


The Eve of a New Dawn - A KH Advent Calendar

by Tory (Ejes)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Advent Calendar 2019, Angst, Fluff, Mystery, Pretty much the whole KH cast, Romance, Some KH3 Spoilers, collection of drabbles, prompts, there's everything in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 24,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21570559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejes/pseuds/Tory
Summary: With Christmas around the corner, and 2020 just about to start, enjoy 24 new prompts to celebrate the end of the year! Involves various characters in 24 independant drabbles, sometimes cute, sometimes dark!
Comments: 31
Kudos: 14





	1. Maze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my third advent calendar! I can't believe that the one last year was written while waiting for KH3. Well, this one was written waiting for the DLC I guess!  
> All 24 themes were courtesy of SaphirActar, who in return got 72 themes! She wrote 3 calendars, and I'm amazed by how much heart she put into this. I hope I managed to put at least a third of that into mine, and that you will enjoy!

_ Hop _ , went the rabbit.  _ Hop, hop, hop _ . It hopped, and hopped again, and Kairi felt like she had been chasing after it in that maze for hours. Where was she anyway? This was a world she was supposed to explore for training, but she could barely remember how she ended up here, let alone the name of the place. She remembered seeing a white rabbit in a funny attire and deciding to follow him.

Her lungs were burning, her feet aching. She was so tired. And so alone. She wished Sora and Riku were with her, then she’d pretend it was all an adventure like when they were kids. Surely they would have caught up the rabbit by now. They were much faster than her. When she was younger, she would be so frustrated she couldn’t run as fast as she could, but her parents had explained to her with a smile that it was natural for boys to be faster than girls. That she was better than them at other things and that she didn’t have to try to be exactly like them. It had been a bit hard on her at first, but she eventually understood. But today, her skills at making thalassa wayfinders and overseeing the building of a raft would be of no use after that quick little rabbit.

“Wait, please! I don’t want to- I just want to-” What did she want with it anyway? She would catch it, and then what? She stopped in her tracks. What was the point of chasing the rabbit? Sora would probably have gone after it too, but Riku would have stopped him.  _ Focus, Sora _ , he would have said.  _ Let’s explore this place instead, or we will get lost. _

Riku was right, of course. He wasn’t there with her, but he was still right. If she kept running after the rabbit, she would never find her way back.

Which way was back, though? She looked around. She had been careless. She was lost already. Riku would have stopped her way before it was too late. What about Sora? She imagined him grinning next to her, shrugging.  _ It’s okay, Riku. Let’s just explore from here! _ Of course he wouldn’t be annoyed at the thought of being lost. Sora was never lost. He was exploring. She smiled at the thought. She would follow his advice. It was time to explore.

She was in the middle of a forest. There was no bird chirping, not even a gust of wind, and the whole place felt off to her. It didn’t give off a gloomy vibe like some places she visited, it just felt unnatural. Fake. Incomplete. Not knowing where to go, she started walking in a very random direction. Every tree looked the same, as if they really  _ were _ the same, one tree cloned over and over. She walked and walked and felt like she wasn’t going anywhere. And everything was still so silent…

Sora would probably be humming something. He hated quiet and was always prone to sing some silly songs or to chat just to cover the silence. Riku wouldn’t mind the silence. He wouldn’t even notice it was all quiet. He’d probably wink at her and say that silence was a gift, as it would be easier to notice anything coming their way. They were both used to exploration, and both really brave. She was somehow glad they weren’t there with her, as she’d probably slow they down anyway.

A bush rustled behind her. Riku was right, silence  _ was _ a blessing. Ally or foe? She summoned her keyblade, ready to fight if she needed to. It was neither, just a tiny hedgehog curled into a ball, rolling to her feet. She crouched, looking at the small creature.

“Why, hello there! You had me worried for a while. What are you doing here all alone?”

The animal uncurled, staring at her with round black eyes that got her heart melting. She reached out for it carefully, and the hedgehog sniffed her fingers, getting her to chuckle. She was about to sit and to play with it when a voice echoed through the woods.

“GUAAAAAAARDS! WHERE DID MY BALL GO? FIND IT NOW, OR OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR HEADS!”

The reaction was instant. The animal squealed, curled back into a ball and started rolling away really quickly. Kairi frowned.

“What is happening here? Did she talked about  _ beheading  _ someone?” She heard some footsteps approaching, and she jumped back to her feet.

Riku and Sora would probably have stood their stance, ready to fight. She wasn’t them. She didn’t want to fight someone casually threatening to behead people. She turned back and ran away as fast as she could, her heart drumming. She wasn’t as brave as her friends. She wasn’t as strong as them. She had seen them fight before, many times, and she knew she would never be their equals.

Her steps took her to a very peculiar room. She had no memory of leaving the woods, and yet, somehow, she was inside a house now. A  _ giant’s house _ . The chair was so high she needed to jump just to touch the seat. If there was something on the table, she was way too small to see what it could be. There was a flower with each petal taller than her. And on the other side of the room was a door she could never open in a million years.

“Just my luck, she sighed. “I’m sure that cruel lady I heard before lives here. She’s going to show up anytime soon and crush me.” She felt so powerless. In the end, she couldn’t do anything by herself. She was only good at being captured, being rescued. She wasn’t a warrior. She was a burden.

“Now here are some really dark thoughts. The greatest lights cast the greatest shadows, it seems.”

She turned back right away, snapping out of her thoughts. A cat head was looking at her.  _ A cat head? _ It was floating in the air, grinning at her with the widest smile she had ever seen. Sora had some serious competition there.

“Did… did you just talk?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who talked right now.” That head was really talking. Somehow, this felt like it wasn’t even the strangest thing she had seen today. The body slowly faded in, the cat’s tail wagging from left to right.

“Is this the room where little girls come to cry, or is this the room that makes little girls cry, I wonder,” the cat said, never losing his smile. “Which one is it?”

“I didn’t come here to cry,” Kairi said. “I’m not even crying.”  _ And I’m not a little girl anymore _ , she wanted to add, but she wasn’t quite sure about that. “But perhaps you can help me. I am looking for a way out.”

“Who isn’t?” That smile was getting on her nerves. “If you want to know where to go, you should stop being so lost.”

Was it animal cruelty to smack him with her blade? She had the feeling he was just making fun of her, and had no intention to help her in any way.

“If you want to stop being alone, you should stop having people around.”

Just a Stop spell then. It wouldn’t hurt him. He’d just stop talking.

“The surest way of finding the light is to step out of the shadows. Good luck!” And just like that, he was gone, after a few unhelpful advices that left more questions than answers. Sora would probably have figured out the answers to these puzzles. Riku would have left long ago, not having a second to spare for this nonsense. But she wasn’t either of them.

_ Stop being so lost _ . She was lost. She spent every second of doubt wondering what her friends would have done. Trying to do things they would approve of.

_ Stop having people around _ . Riku by the door she came from, his armed cross, waiting for her to go back to the forest and find the way out. Sora by her side, grinning at her, his arms crossed behind his head, not really in a hurry to leave, having fun here. She shook her head. They weren’t here. The decisions weren’t theirs to make, but hers. Because she was the only one around.

_ Step out of the shadows _ . For so long, she had been in their shadows. Believing that her skills were only to assist them. To support them. To be the helpful sidekick, not their equal. But that wasn’t who she was meant to be. She had restricted her potential for so long, acknowledging she wouldn’t be as good as them and thus never trying too, but she was a keyblade wielder. Every training made her stronger. Every scar tougher. She was quicker, smarter, braver than she’d ever been before. This wasn’t a competition. She needed to stop letting her friends win without even trying.

She summoned her keyblade, looking at it. For so long, she had thought that a weapon covered with flowers was a symbol of weakness.  _ A cute little girl caring more about pretty things than fighting _ . Roses were pretty, yet they had thorns. The prettiest flowers were the most toxic one. In nature, pretty things weren’t weak things. She clenched her weapon, looking in front of her. She wasn’t a burden. She wouldn’t slow anyone down. She was a Keyblade Wielder, and someday, she wouldn’t be a Keyblade Master. She fought darkness to protect the worlds, she had turned a heartless back into a human, a feat no one ever managed to before, she was able to see through Riku’s disguise when no one could. She wasn’t weak. She was a fighter, just like Sora, just like Riku. She stood where they stood, and nowhere else.

This wasn’t a giant’s room. This was a regular room, with a regular chair, a regular table, a regular flower. She walked to the door, and it wasn’t gigantic. All she had to do was turn the knob. The door opened without a creak, and she stepped out of the room.

* * *

“Sweet dreams, Princess?”

She smiled at Lea, stretching. That nap had done a lot of good.

“I never thought chasing a rabbit in a maze would boost my self confidence as much, I must say.”

The red head, puzzled, shrugged. “Still half asleep, and blabbering nonsense, I see. Hope you are ready for training.”

“Of course I am,” she giggled while cracking her fingers. “But I’d best warn you that I do not intend to lose today. From now on, I intend to be the strongest I can be. And I’ll start by kicking your butt.”

Lea laughed, surprised, and ruffled her hair playfully, taunting her. She was serious, though. She wouldn’t stand in anyone’s shadow anymore. It was time for her to have a taste of the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 2nd theme is Stranger!


	2. Stranger

_ I look at you, brother, but when I do, a stranger looks back at me. _

“So, do you wanna play chess, or do you want to stare at me for another hour without saying anything?”

Eraqus snapped out of his thoughts. Xehanort was showing him a piece chess, his head tilted to the side, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, of course. Sorry, I was somewhere else.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” Xehanort saying, chuckling. “I’m playing Light today, though!”

“What? No way! I always play Light!”

“What are you gonna do about it, cry?” Xehanort taunted with a smirk. Eraqus frowned for a minute, then sighed. “Anyway, think about it that way : I always play Darkness, but I also always win. This might be your chance to win, this time!”

“Funny how I do not remember you having that many victories.”

“That’s because you always cheated, Eraqus. It’s easy to win when you bend the rules.”

Eraqus rolled his eyes before grabbing the black piece his friend was giving him. They had not played together for so long. They weren’t kids anymore - they weren’t even students anymore. Master Eraqus, and Master Xehanort. Such formal titles for a bunch of twenty year old who would do their best to meet every now and then. Titles meant nothing to them. They were still kids who grew up together, trained together, and knew every dirty little secret about one another. Eraqus knew all about his friend’s ticklish feet and Xehanort just had to whisper the word  _ piñata _ to remind Eraqus of his most embarrassing memory. They weren’t Masters, they were comrades, they were friends, they were family.

And yet, Eraqus wasn’t so sure about that anymore.

Xehanort had changed. He didn’t know what happened, but everytime he met him, the young man was a bit more of a stranger. It started with his eyes. They used to be a deep grey, matching Eraqus’s. With their similar hairstyle, although of different colours, they used to look like siblings for real. But as time went by, Xehanort’s eyes changed colour, at first slightly dotted with golden sparkles, then more and more, until they looked like a pool of pure gold. He said he had no explanation about this, that this happened over time. That gold was so similar of that of the creatures they fought, creatures of darkness, that Eraqus couldn’t help but worry.

And of course, his best friend’s personality was changing too. He was starting to question things. To question what was really right. To ask if they should really destroy all the darkness, if they shouldn’t try to keep things balanced instead. Everything they had been taught, he would question. That made Eraqus deeply uneasy, wondering what could possibly be the reason for his friend’s behaviour. He had even once discussed it with his friend Yen Sid, but the mage had simply told him that questioning the world was a part of growing up, and that Eraqus was probably changing too, even though he didn’t notice.

“First move here! My warrior on the Moon.”

Eraqus looked as his friend put his piece on the mentioned square, and frowned. “That’s an unusual move. The warrior usually starts on the Island.”

“And that, my friend, is why you lose every time. Reusing the same strategy over and over.” 

“Just wait and see,” Eraqus responded to the bait, “I will make you feel sorry this time. My shadow on the Clock!” He dropped his piece dramatically on the square with a smirk to his friend. It would be so easy to just pretend everything was fine. To pretend they were still kids, playing games before the next lesson, before being scolded by their Master for not having done their homeworks, before stargazing and going to bed.

Perhaps Xehanort was right. Eraqus liked his daily life, he liked predictable things, and if something worked, he didn’t see the need of doing something else ; and if something didn’t work, he would just try to find a way to fix it, rather than try something new. Perhaps his issue was that he didn’t challenge things enough. Perhaps Xehanort wasn’t the problem,  _ he _ was. And perhaps he worried about his friend changing because  _ he _ was the one terrified things would change.

When he looked at Xehanort, a stranger looked back at him. But now, it got him wondering - who Xehanort saw looking at him? Did he worry, too, about them starting to walk different ways? Or did he, on the contrary, felt relieved that they did, wanting to let go of childhood to walk his own path?

“And then I asked for her hand and she turned me into a goat, it was terrible, but hey, at least grass tasted good.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, so you  _ are _ listening to me? You know I have been talking for at least five minutes and you still look like your mind is worlds away? Is everything alright, Era?”

The dark-haired young man shook his head with a sigh. “I’m really sorry. Work has been pretty exhausting, lately, and I can hardly focus.”

“It’s alright, I get it. Traveling through worlds  _ is _ tiresome, especially using gliders. If only there was a way to travel faster… Should we postpone our game to another day? Let’s just go through the Master’s old diaries about how we were terrible kids or something instead. I was crushing you anyway.”

With a smile, Eraqus realised that his brother was still his brother after all. Of course, he had changed about many things, but Yen Sid was right. That was the thing with growing up. But Xehanort still cared and loved Eraqus, and Eraqus loved and cared about him just as much. There was no way his friend would do anything wrong. Just because they took different paths didn’t mean they wouldn’t bring them to the same place at the end. All it took was a little bit of trust.

“You know what? I’d love that. And I know exactly where he kept them - locked in a box.”

“Locked?” Xehanort started laughing. “Give me a break. He taught us to use a  _ keyblade _ , and he hid things with a  _ lock _ ? Did he really think we had no potential at all?”

Eraqus joined his friend in his laughter, feeling his doubts washing away. He never should have doubted Xehanort. They were family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 3rd theme is Unity!


	3. Unity

They all had been selected on the same day. They barely knew each other back then, having trained together with dozens of other children, their names and faces familiar but not quite friendly yet. The Master gave them other names and hid their faces behind masks anyway. They weren’t trainees anymore, they were symbols, now. Leaders, role models, guides. The Master had told them they’d thank him for the mask on the days they’d want some quiet, by being able to walk the streets with their faces bare without being recognized. They all wondered if he did that sometimes, if they had already seen his face without knowing it.

The fact that the Masters headquarters were in the clocktower was no coincidence. They were reminded everyday of the importance of working together.

Each one of them was a gear in the Master’s plan. Five people selected for their skills, for their empathy, for their calm, each managing their own union in their own way, but all striving towards the same goal. Gears didn’t all turn in the same direction, but altogether, they made the system work flawlessly, a well-oiled mechanics that had no reason to go wrong. At least that’s what they thought at first.

But how could things work flawlessly, when the Master himself brought a grain of sand to throw in the gears? 

Aced had been the first one to question it, but no one listened. This had been the first nick in the gears. They were five very skilled people, but they never worked as a team, and they wouldn’t listen to one another. The Master’s word was absolute. So when Aced asked why there were five unions, but the Master had appointed a sixth leader, no one had an answer, because no one wanted to care about that.  _ The Master knows what he does. It’s for the best. _

Invi had been the second to doubt. What was the point of having different unions, when they all had the same goal? Why did it matter who they responded to, as long as they fought for the light? Wouldn’t it be healthier to have them all fighting under the same union? Why was Ava the one to create such an union? Why would Ava be more special?

Gula wasn’t even allowed to express his doubts out loud. Why was he the one with an additional page? Why couldn’t he tell the other ones about it? If the Master wanted peace, why force them to keep secrets from one another? It was unfair. These people weren’t necessarily his friends, but he knew them by now. He didn’t want to keep anything from them. But he also had to obey the Master, and that was sometimes infuriating.

Ava was terrified by how things were going. The Master had created these unions for peace, he had said. But what peace could there be, when the unions were in constant competition? When each week, the “best” union was rewarded? Why did he talk about peace and told her about war, kept talking about unity and split them in five, talked about future and told her most of them wouldn’t have any? Where was the fairness in all of that?

Ira couldn’t say a word, about anything. The Master had made him their leaders. He couldn’t show any sign of weakness, any doubt. He knew how much they questioned everything, how scared and worried they were, and truth was, so was he. He had been given the world to carry on his shoulders, and knew that it would collapse at the very first weakness. He didn’t know why they all had roles to play that put them one against another. He didn’t know why Luxu was a unionless leader or what was his role. He didn’t know what  _ Dandelions _ were for. And he didn’t know how long they had before the world fell to chaos. His role was to try to keep everything together for as long as he could.

Each of them knew that the Master’s plan was designed to be flawed, that the clocktower would one day stop ticking. They were all pawns in a game they didn’t understand. All they could do was wear their mask and pretend everything was fine, until the grain of sand finally broke the whole mechanism and the clocktower fell apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fourth theme is Wind!


	4. Wind

Ventus woke up with a start. The sound was unmistakable. The trees rustling, the shelters hitting the walls, all that noise out there was very familiar to him. A storm was coming. He jumped out of his bed, quickly changed into a comfortable outfit, and rushed outside with a grin.

Ventus loved windy days. He loved them so much he would always do his best to stay outside for as long as he could, feeling the wind trying to push him off his feet, playing with him. He couldn’t quite explain why he liked wind so much, but it made him feel whole again. He never was more alive than when standing in the middle of a storm.

In the Land of Departure, there was a hill higher than any other. Every gust of wind was ten times stronger there. This was Ven’s favourite place ever. He climbed there as fast as he could, his own secret spot with an amazing view of the castle, of the mountains, of the lakes below. He didn’t mind the cold at all. Golden and scarlet leaves were dancing around, welcoming him as an old friend, and he couldn’t help but smile, collecting more leave to throw them around and watch them swirl. He never mentioned this place to Terra or Aqua. Each of them had their own, secret place where they could rest and reconnect with the world around them, and they respected privacy like a very official oath. No meddling with personal havens.

Every time Ven came here, he was alone but never felt lonely. This was home within his home, the place where he and he only belonged. He would even sometimes sleep here, even though he would often come back with a cold, because this place felt really soothing. It kept the nightmares away. He could deal with a sore throat for a peaceful night.

And this place had secrets for him. Things no one but him could hear. It wasn’t something he could have explained even if he tried to, because these things were impossible. Terra would tell him it was all his imagination. Aqua would kindly smile and say “Who knows?”, but she wouldn’t quite believe him either. Master Eraqus would say that he as just half asleep and better in his bed than outside in the middle of the night. That’s what he wouldn’t tell any of them.

But the wind  _ talked _ . More exactly, the wind carried voices over for him to hear. Voices that didn’t belong to anyone here. Voices he never heard before, most of the times. Sometimes, some voices were familiar. A snarky voice saying  _ I’m gonna crush that loser someday _ with hatred he never heard before. A cheerful voice exclaiming  _ I am the captain of that boat, but you can be my left hand, Riku! _ A quiet voice sobbing  _ My friends will save me, they will get me out of this cell _ . Not all voices had nice stories to tell. Ven would listen to them, and wonder who they belonged to. What was their story. If he’d ever meet them, that boat captain, that sorrowful prisoner. He felt like intruding into their lives, and he knew that was kind of wrong, but that also made him incredibly curious. Why would the wind carry these fragments of voices to him? What if it really had a purpose? What if these people weren’t chosen randomly? Everytime he climbed the hill, he wondered with excitement who he would hear that night. Sometimes, the wind was quiet, and it was fine with him too.

He sat on the ground, in the middle of the dancing leaves. All he could hear was the wind humming around him, singing his favourite lullaby. He closed his eyes, his face to the moon. He loved training, but he couldn’t deny how good peace felt like. He didn’t move for an hour, just feeling the wind on his skin, rushing through his hair, making it defy gravity more than ever.

And the wind stopped singing. Ven caught his breath in for a while. The voices were coming tonight. Who would it be?

_ Ven _

He opened his eyes right away. That couldn’t be. That was just a coincidence. Or maybe he misheard. That was impossible.

_ Ven, everyone… Where are you now? _

He wanted to answer, but it didn’t work this way. Terra’s fictive lecture was probably right, anyway. It was all in his head. Stories his mind made up before he slept.

_ El and I are looking for you. We will find you. I promise. _

El? He didn’t know anyone with that name. He didn’t know anyone but the people in this world, anyway. That was weird, he realised. He couldn’t remember his childhood at all. Did he know other people?

_ I am ready to sacrifice all that I have to find you. My soul. My heart. I just hope you’re all safe. Please be safe. _

Whose voice was that? And why did Ven’s heart hurt so much just by hearing these words? He never wanted to find the origin of the voices as much as now. “Who was that?” he yelled to the wind. “Where are they? How can I find them?”

For the first time, the wind didn’t say anything. Either this was just another nightmare, or the wind really didn’t pick voices randomly. They were people he needed to find. People he was connected to. But he couldn’t until he was finally a Master, until he was finally allowed to leave this world.

He balled his fists and took a deep breath in. He would work twice as hard. He would become strong and reliable. He would become a proud Master. And then, he would find all of these people and learn their stories.

Tonight was over. He stood up, heading for the Castle. As he was just about to leave the hill for good, the wind wished him goodnight by bringing the last words of whoever was speaking.

_ Even if it takes a dozen or a hundred years, we will meet again. _

“That’s a promise,” Ven whispered as he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fifth theme is Destiny!


	5. Destiny

Riku was standing on the edge of the world. His world. This didn’t look like a cliff with nothing behind it. It was a beach, and then the sea, unlimited sea. A sea no one explored. A sea no one ever  _ thought _ to explore. That always surprised him as a kid, how this town full of sailors and fishermen never went that far offshore. He realised now that this was just the limit of the world, an invisible frontier no one could go through, protected by a spell to prevent anyone from thinking to go through it.

This world had once felt so small to him. He always knew there was life somewhere else. As a kid, he believed that these other forms of life would be in the stars, living in a galaxy far far away.  _ Other worlds _ was just too much fantasy, even for the kid he was. And then came Kairi. She didn’t come from the stars, he was almost sure of it. She just came out of nowhere. And that nowhere, Riku was obsessed with it. Kairi wasn’t from their island. She just wasn’t from there at all. Which meant there really was  _ somewhere else _ with other people, humans just like them who lived their everyday lives without being aware of the lovely Destiny Islands. How many  _ somewhere else _ were there? To Sora, it was all a game of pretend. New worlds to explore, new adventures to live, but always on time for dinner. To Riku, that was an excruciating curiosity he couldn’t stop. And his world felt smaller every day.

He sighed, washing his face with sea water. Even though no one remembered it, he was well aware of the luck he had to be standing here today. To share meals with his parents. To feel the heat of the sun on his skin.

It all had been gone for a while, and it was all because of him. Curiosity had been eating him up for years and years. He had to know what was out there. He had to be sure there was an out there. Kairi acted as if she didn’t care about where she came from, Sora liked the theories as stories to play throughout the day. They didn’t even take the raft seriously. They were planning to paddle for half a day, play in the ocean, and then come back by sunrise. Everyone thought that was their plan. And that was why their parents were letting them do it anyway. Only Riku was serious about wanting to go further than anyone, to explore new places, to see if this place was bigger than it seemed. And when a mysterious man showed up and offered him exactly what he sought, instead of being wary of the stranger danger, he gladly accepted.

For his curiosity, he sacrificed his whole world. His friends. His family. Everything he called home. Without even being certain to get it back again.

His life was nothing but regrets. No one knew what he did. No one remembered that night. They acted just like with the world border: they never mentioned it, never thought about it, their memories of that time hazy. Only  _ he _ knew, and he had to live with it. Smile at his father while thinking he had offered his life to see outer worlds. Chat with his mother while remembering he didn’t even thought twice about trading her for power.

Had none of this happened, he would still be just an islander. Their powers might not even have awakened. Ventus would still be lost, sleeping in an unknown place. Organization XIII would still bring chaos to the worlds. Xehanort would have collected all princesses of hearts. Kairi would be gone. Sora wouldn’t be.

Had he known all of that, would he still have chosen the Darkness? Knowing it would bring him power, the chance to explore dozens of new places, magic, fighting with a King, becoming a Master, and living more exciting adventures he would ever have dreamt of, but at the cost of losing all that he ever cherished? Or would he have instead chosen peace, afraid of that exciting but unforgiving future, sacrificing power, sacrificing Kairi, for a quiet life with his parents, with Sora, studying at school before working in the fish industry like everyone else on this island? When both choices involved losing a friend, which one would he have chosen? If given that very same choice now, which one would he chose?

He shook his head. He had been given an impossible choice before. The road to the Light, or the path to the Darkness. He had made his own way. And he would do it again. His own road was waiting for him. A road where everybody lived, no matter the price to pay.

He chuckled, staring at the sea. How foolish he had been all this time. All this time, he had thought that he was able to escape fate, his fate as a regular fisherman, his fate as a puppet of darkness. This was Destiny Island. No one escaped fate. Destiny had your path decided long before you were born. Foolish was the one who thought he could change it, for that path was for no one to know. And once again, starting from Destiny Island, he would follow that path laid out for him and see where it lead him. It was time to see fate as an ally, rather than something to run from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the sixth day, the theme shall be "Human"!


	6. Human

It was so weird, being human.It felt as if nothing was too different from being a Nobody, and yet everything being completely new.

Ienzo wasn’t quite accustomed to the smiling part yet. He almost never smiled as a Nobody, and when he did, it usually was more of a bitter smirk. He didn’t know anything about happiness. But now, he understood why Xemnas saw the heart as a liability - it betrayed his every emotion. Seeing people in the city would make his heart leap, and a stupid smile appear on his face everytime. He was  _ happy, _ for reasons he couldn’t even explain to himself. Aeleus would smile at him in the morning and all he could do was smile back. Dilan would make a joke and his body responded by a very strange sound - a laugh. He felt so vulnerable, showing his feelings so openly to people, and seeing them respond the very same way. It worried him. Worry was something new, too. All he ever felt before was mildly annoyance at things. If things went well, he’d nod and move on ; if they didn’t he’d shrug and move on. But in this life, this human life, his heart was very well decide to catch up on years of not feeling by letting him feel the whole panel of human emotions at any given situation.

The whole city looked like a dream to him. He barely remembered it at all, had memories of the most peculiar things - he remembered a door, an alley, the shape of a sewer grid or what colour the flowers should be, but not the way to what used to be his room or the name of the streets.

He spent a lot of time with Dilan and Aeleus. The two former-new guards would show him around a lot, telling him stories they reminded of their previous time here. Sometimes, their memories involved him, and he was really curious about them, as he didn’t remember any of them. He could see they felt bad he had no memory of that. One night, Dilan had drank too much and put his hand on his head, staring at him sadly for a very long time.

“What’s wrong?” he had finally asked, put uneasy by the man’s behaviour.

“This is so unfair. You were stolen your whole childhood. I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you, kid.”

These words almost brought him to tears, even though he just shook his head and said “I can’t miss what I never knew” while walking away. He couldn’t, and yet he still did.

What he did miss even more, even though he wouldn’t tell anyone, was what he remembered.  _ Who _ he remembered. He avoided the throne room as much as he could - and luckily, he never had any business here. He remembered the King, Ansem, very vividly. Even as a Nobody, he had hated that Xemnas’s name came from Ansem, when they had nothing in common. The King had been good to him, taken care of him as his own son, made Ienzo feel home. What ever happened to him? Was he… He couldn’t even bear thinking about this. It couldn’t be. So many people had been lost already, but Ansem couldn’t be one of them. It was harder to escape the memories of the other one he missed. Working in Even’s laboratory. Using Even’s material, wearing his labcoat. Working with Even’s messy handwritten notes. Zexion didn’t really care about Vexen, no more than anyone else, but Ienzo realised all the sacrifices the scientist made to keep him safe. Zexion was almost never sent to worlds full of powerful heartless, only to recon missions. And he would spend most of the time inside the Castle, studying Darkness, never really wondering why Xemnas almost never sent him away, when it felt like Vexen was sent away almost twice as much as anyone. It all made sense now. Vexen had felt guilty the child put under his care got involved into so much trouble, and had done all he could to protect him from any more harm. Every morning he stepped into the lab, his heart tightened and felt really heavy. Where was he now? When he woke up in the lab, with everyone else, Even wasn’t there. But even though he couldn’t explain it, Ienzo was certain the scientist had been brought back just as them all. It would make sense, after all. But for some reasons, only Dilan and Aeleus had been there when he woke up. He needed to work twice as hard to fix all they did wrong, until the day Even and, his heart wished, the King, would come back. 

* * *

“Oh, being pumped up today I see, Ienzo!”

He put down the book he was taking notes from to greet Dilan and Aeleus with a smile. He was getting used to that. The two men often came for a coffee break in his lab - to remind him to actually take breaks.

“As always. I’ve just found out some of Even’s notes on the heart, and I think that combined with what I learnt with him about replicas, we might be able to bring back those who didn’t get that chance - Roxas, or Naminé.”

“Dead set on bringing them back?”

The young scientist looked at Aeleus proudly. “A heart is something I’ve learnt to cherish. Let’s make sure they get the same chance I did.”

Using science for good. He was at last the human he wanted to be.


	7. Mirror

“Alright, this should be the last one!”

“Thanks, Ven. You’ve been a great help. Should I make pancakes for your hardwork?”

“Should have said that earlier and I would have worked twice as hard!”

Aqua laughed as the boy carefully put the mirror on the ground, face down. They were standing in the forest behind their Castle, a strange place with twenty four mirrors, all face down, scattered across the wood. These were all the mirrors that once were inside the Castle, and now, there wasn’t any single one left.

“Why don’t you go prepare the ingredients? We’ll be there in a minute.”

The boy smiled comprehensively and ran away, leaving his two friends alone.

“Wow. We really did it.” Terra’s hand slid into hers, and she squeezed it with a sad smile.

“I guess we did.”

“What would the Master say about this?”

They both fell silent for a second, before saying at the same time “ _ How am I supposed to tie my hair up decently without a mirror? _ ”. They started chuckling, the sound progressively becoming a very loud laugh.

“He’d probably say that every mirror here has a story.”

“Then he would take hours telling each of these even though we’re starving and supposed to have lunch.”

“He would scold you for making silly faces when you thought he wasn’t watching.”

“And he would scold  _ you _ for encouraging me.”

Another silence, before Aqua sighed.

“What is wrong with us, Terra?”

This time, Terra was the one to squeeze her fingers. “Given the circumstances, I’m sure he would understand.”

“I think that’s only making it worse. Everyone understands. No one judges. Ven didn’t even ask anything. He just did as we said and brought the mirrors here. How are we supposed to heal if everyone treats us as if it was normal? Where is the Master crossing his arms at us , saying  _ You cannot get braver if you hide all that scares you in a closet _ ?”

“He’s right there.” Terra gently tapped Aqua’s chest, than his, where the heart was. “And right now he’s saying  _ That’s not even a closet, kids, that a FOREST _ . He sounds unhappy.”

“And he’s right to be. Should we… I don’t think I can do that. I don’t think I can bring them all back in.”

“How about one at a time, then? Let’s just put back one for now. One that’s in a room we almost never go to. How’s that for a start?”

Aqua smiled, got to the tip of her toes, and gently put a kiss on Terra’s lips for a second. “That’s a wonderful idea. Ven is going to hate us for having him bring them all out, only to bring some back in as soon as he’s done, though.”

“I’ll make him more pancakes and he will forgive us anything. He’s a kind kid. More than we ever were.”

They chuckled, and picked the mirror from the bathroom on the third floor, the one they almost never used. But as they walked back to the Castle, they always made sure they couldn’t see the reflection on the glass.

Since they came back, mirrors had become the most terrifying thing in this place. Anytime they’d catch their reflection on it, they would see silver hair or golden eyes looking back at them. It was all in their mind, and they knew that very well, but mirrors just showed their nightmares back at them. They would walk from a room to another staring at their feet. Aqua broke the mirror of her own bathroom by punching it, and Ven had to remove every shard of glass from her shaking, bleeding hand. They knew something had to be done about that.

And just like kids, they had thought that the best way to deal with this was to hide the issue somewhere else rather than to face their fears. They were lucky to have the memories of their old Master to help them go through this, though. And to have each other when times got tough.

Healing was a really slow process, they were aware of that. It would take time for them to be completely normal again. Perhaps they would never completely heal. But they had each other, and they had Ven. It was time to learn to be happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this one, I decided to explore a bit the Wayfinder Trio likely PTSD. They went through so much, and I think it will take them a lot of time to finally be able to live with that.
> 
> Eighth theme is Truth! (am looking forward to posting that one)


	8. Truth

“Hey, Xiggy, do you wanna hear something funny? No, no, too familiar, he’s just going to shoot me. Xigbar, there is something very important I need to tell you. Aaah, no way, he’s just going to ignore me! Or shoot me! Maybe I should pretend Saïx asked to talk to him then lock him in a room and tell him? Is there a single scenario that won’t end up with him shooting me?”

Demyx sighed in front of his mirror. He had been practising in his room for almost an hour, and still couldn’t find the right way to tell Xigbar the truth. Or at least a way to tell the truth that wouldn’t be lethal for him.

It didn’t help that he had almost the whole content of a meal on his coat, and some wine sticking in his hair. He would need a shower before talking to the number two. The meal had been courtesy of Xigbar himself, for no real valid reason ; or perhaps “let’s bully Demyx” was a valid reason ton him. The wine had been poured by Larxene who would never say no to an occasion to make him look miserable. He would worry about her later, even though he needed a serious talk with her too. Xigbar was the priority.

“How am I supposed to tell him? How in the world am I supposed to tell him literally  _ anything _ when he hates and despises me so much? Is there a right time? Is now a right time? Should I wait longer? But the longer I wait, the angrier he’ll get, I suppose…”

That was a dilemma he wasn’t used to. He had avoided conflict most of his life at the Organization. Doing the bare minimum, not really listening when being scolded, being the cool artist guy no one really understood (or no one really cared about, but he shoved that thought away).

Maybe he could write a song? He imagined the scene. Xigbar, waking up, stepping into the Grey Area, and Demyx, waiting for him, starting to play the first notes on his citar. Xigbar, captivated by the melody. Demyx, starting to sing his secret softly… Somehow, this was turning very differently than what he wanted. The vibe was completely wrong. People would definitely get that wrong. Terrible idea. No, no way. But he was also pretty much out of ideas. There was also the fact that he needed a one-on-one with the one-eyed-man.  _ This _ couldn’t and shouldn’t ever reach Xemnas’s ears, or Demyx would be screwed. Worse, Demyx would be as good as gone.

How about taunting him? Demyx could be fast when he wanted to. Or when he had to. Trick Xigbar, make him follow him and isolate him? That didn’t solve the “getting shot” part, though. Taking his guns away? That could have been a possibility, had the man not been able to summon them back. That would only piss him off.

Demyx threw himself onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. That was it. No good solution at all. He kept playing dumb so that they wouldn’t realise he was actually smarter than they believed, but it turned out he even fooled himself and became stupid for real. Perhaps he should do like every time he was in trouble: think about this later. Like tomorrow. Or next week. The more he waited, the worst it would be, but that would be something for future Demyx to deal with, leaving him in peace.

He rolled out of his bed, throwing the coat and his clothes to the ground as he stepped into the bathroom. No matter what he decided, it could wait until he was clean. As soon as the hot water started warming him up, he relaxed. He took the bottle of shampoo and poured a generous amount on his hair. The shampoo strangely smelled like toothpaste. He frowned, deciding to at least take the shower gel to smell decent. And felt his whole body burn as he realised someone had switched his product with some aftershave. There were only two major suspects, but he would expect Larxene to put something sticky and impossible to wash away as one of the product, and probably some hair dye as the other. 

Demyx closed his eyes and smiled. He could wait a bit longer. They didn’t need to know right away, especially Xigbar. The man was having fun right now, and it would be wrong to keep him from a good laugh. But one day, sooner or later, Demyx would find the right timing to call him, and tell him “Hey, Luxu, I hope you haven’t forgotten your old Master, now, have you?”, and then it would be  _ his _ turn to enjoy the moment and have a good laugh staring at his apprentice realise who he’d been bullying for years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That one's one of my favourites, so I hoped you liked it!
> 
> Nineth theme is Ghost!


	9. Ghost

“And it is on this fated land that the Seven will clash against the Thirteen in an ultimate fight!”

Xehanort showed them the keyblade graveyard around like some kind of guide with a bunch of tourist. Saïx looked around, frowning, and whispered to Marluxia standing next to him “Would you know why I count one less person than when we arrived?” If Xehanort was the guide, Saïx was definitely the camp counsellor making sure they weren’t losing any kid. Which they apparently did.

Marluxia counted all the heads as well, checking who was missing, then sighed as he realised who was the lost one. “Make sure he doesn’t notice we’re gone. I’ll go get her.” Saïx and Marluxia were far from best friends, Saïx still remembering fairly well how Marluxia had tried to backstab the whole Organization a while ago - but somehow, in this new Organization, he wasn’t as suspicious as he used to. Marluxia wondered how many people had a secret agenda in this brand new group. He slowed down until everyone walked passed him, and then swiftly turned back on their tracks. He walked for a while without seeing anything. That place deserved its name of graveyard. There wasn’t a single soul around. He was walking looking straight ahead, not letting his gaze linger on the thousands of weapons marking fallen warriors. And then he finally saw her. At first, she was still so far she was but a tiny black dot in the distance. But as he walked closer, it felt the dot wouldn’t get any bigger. He frowned and walked faster until he could solve that mystery.

She was actually curled into a ball, sitting on the dusty red ground with her hood on and her hands pressed against her ears. He crouched in front of her. Her eyes were shut, her face pale. He quietly put his hand on her shoulder, and she tensed with a gasp, not moving an inch.

“Larxene,” he called. No reaction. “Larxene?” he tried again, but she still wouldn’t move. He knew she could hear him - no hand ever protected very efficiently against someone talking to you. He put his other hand on her other shoulder, shaking her. “Laxene!” She at last opened her eyes, and he could see fear replaced with relief as she realised it was him.

“We have to go and join them. Now.” He was trying to act as cold and distant as he could, in case they had been followed. But when she shook her head and replied with a trembling voice, he knew she wouldn’t listen to Marluxia - and that only Lauriam might help her now.

“I can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t. I really can’t. I tried to ignore them for as much as I could, but that’s too much for me.”

“Them? Who are you ignoring, Larxene?” His voice had gone much softer now, warmer. He tried to put as much comfort in his tone as he could.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. Them. All of them. They are all around us.”

All he could see were the keyblades, but she sounded as if she was talking about people. Which was one of the many things this world lacked of.

“Name the one thing I fear, Marluxia. You have three seconds.”

“Easy. Ghosts. … Oh.”

By losing their hearts, they had lost the ability to feel pretty much everything. But a phobia was more than just a feeling, it was a body reaction to a situation, and it turned out they weren’t that easy to get rid of. Neither of them had known she was apparently terrified of ghosts until she had been sent on a mission in Halloween Town, and Marluxia had been sent to look for her after she didn’t come back. He had found her crying inside a house, paralyzed, and she even had nightmares for two weeks after that. He had pulled some strings back then to make sure she wouldn’t ever be sent back there again. And he had the feeling they were in the very place at the origin of her fear.

“Can you see them, Larxene? Can you see ghosts here? I can’t, so please tell me what you see.”

“Every keyblade… Every child who owned it. They all are staring at us. They are saying we abandoned us. They are saying we have no right to stand here, alive. They call us traitors.”

It made sense, in a way. Lauriam had been a Union Leader. He had been aware that in order to save a few, many would perish. He also had known this was the best option they had. Either save a few or watch them all die. He had lost some important people in the war as well, but he had known all along that he had a chance to save some of them and he seized it. Elrena hadn’t known any of that. She joined the Dandelions believing that would save her from the war. She had not understood that wouldn’t save everyone else as well. Impostor Syndrom. She lived believing she should have died because all the other did. Had Marluxia still had a heart, it probably would have broke right here and now.

“Crying won’t bring them back. Nothing will. But we survived, and other might have too. So we can either stay here and apologize to graves for being alive, or we can continue with our plan and find all who made it out alive. Which one do you chose? Sob with the dead or rejoice with the living?”

She looked at him like an angry kitten, knowing perfectly well there was only one answer to that. But her gaze slid to the blades and she tensed back right away. Marluxia gave her a gentle smile. “I’ll help you walk through them. But we really have to go. Please.”

She nodded weakly, sniffing and rubbing her eyes. She took a deep breathe in, and suddenly, her mask was back on, a face full of disdain and anger. Only her very tensed shoulders betrayed the panic she still felt. Marluxia stepped in front of her.

“Don’t look at them. Just look at my back. Focus on my back until we’re there. And if you can still hear them… Tell me a story. Anything. Talk louder than them.”

And for the whole way back, Larxene talked about her top ten ideas to ruin Demyx’s life, her eyes never leaving the middle seam of her old friend’s coat, pretending there wasn’t anyone else around them. After all, there wasn’t.

* * *

“Now where were you both?” So Saïx had failed to keep Xehanort busy long enough to cover them. Not surprising, given how long they had been gone. It was so obvious from Xigbar’s smirk that he was about to give his own inappropriate theory about their disappearance, but Larxene answered faster than he could.

“Well, you know. Sightseeing. Taking selfies. Would take one with all of you but A/ I hate you all and B/The sun shines so much on your bald head the whole pic would be a failure anyway. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go over what you said in the last twenty minutes, I wouldn’t have listened anyway.”

Marluxia rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his smile at her snarky comment. Xehanort paid her very little attention and turned back, resuming his world tour. As soon as the whole group set back to motion, Larxene pinched Marluxia’s arm lightly.

“Hey, thanks, Pinky.”

“Call me that again and I drop you in the middle of Halloween Town without even your coat to protect you if you thought of coming back.”

“Ooh, watch out, the pretty rose comes with thorns,” she chuckled, and he winked back at her.

And somewhere on this world, the Dark Inferno whispered their names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm considering writing that Halloween Town backstory, by the way~
> 
> Tenth theme is Princess!


	10. Princess

The ballroom was full, and Cinderella couldn’t be any happier. The Castle was hosting a ball every month now and all were welcome to join, regardless of age or social rank. Cinderella loved these events. How could she not? This was where she met her husband. She wanted others to have the chance to meet new people, and perhaps even their loved one, and this was the greatest occasion she could give them. Her husband did enjoy the idea, not only because he’d do anything to see his wife happy, but also because it allowed him to be closer to his people. He would one day become king, and he wanted to be able to understand people to be able to help them as much as he could.

* * *

Although these events always brought a lot of people, they were mostly all familiar faces by now ; which was how Cinderella spotted the new one right away. She was a very pretty lady, wearing a vibrant purple dress, not quite what people wore here. She was pretty tall, and had very delicate features that made her stand out. She would be even prettier without that frown on her face - she was looking at the room as if she was in hostile territory. Could she just be shy and intimidated? Cinderella excused herself from her company and made her way to the newcomer.

“Good evening, Miss. Are you enjoying the ball so far?”

The other lady looked panicked. Social interactions might not really be her forte, Cinderella guessed. But she wanted all of her guests to feel at ease and to have fun, and she wouldn’t let anyone leave being sad or angry. 

“That is truly a wonderful dress. Quite unusual, I may say, but wonderful.” She gave an encouraging smile. The Purple Lady nodded quickly. “Present.” she muttered.

“How lovely! The first time I came here, my friends had made me a dress too. Oh, it didn’t make it to the ball, though, due to unfortunate events, but my Fairy Godmother had another one made for me. I am forever grateful to all of them. Surely you must feel the same.”

The lady grunted, not looking  _ that _ grateful. Perhaps she didn’t like the dress. But then, she still decided to wear it, not wanting to hurt her friends, and that was even more wonderful. Pretty on the outside  _ and _ on the inside.

She remembered the day she first went to the ball. How her animal friends, and even Ventus, the newcomer to this household, although he didn’t stay, made her the most wonderful dress she’d ever seen. How Terra comforted her and escorted her to the ball. How Aqua saved her and ensured she would get to try the slipper on. She wondered how the three of them were doing, now. She hoped they would visit someday.

Now that she thought about it, the Purple Lady somehow reminded her of Terra. An aura of strength, will and kindness, paired with a lot of uneasiness when it came to interacting with other. She smiled tenderly at the thought, bringing a curious look from her companion.

“My apologies, I wasn’t making fun of you. You just remind me of a friend. He is a man, but you do have the same energy around you. Please, enjoy your time here. If dancing is not your thing, may I suggest you to try out our buffet over there? We recently hired a new cook and his food is most likely the best in the country. Perhaps the best in this world, even,” she added with a wink as the lady gasped. She gently chuckled. “Don’t worry, no one really asks questions around here. But if you happen to meet people named Ventus, Terra or Aqua where you are from, would you mind telling them they are welcome here anytime? Oh, and that goes to Sora as well. I hope he is doing well.”

If the lady didn’t really react at the first three names, she could see her face soften at the mention of Sora. She nodded with a smile. “Will do.”

“Thank you. Take your time here, and feel free to come back anytime.And if the music is too much, our gardens offer peace and quiet, as well as a magnificent view. Have a good night!”

The other lady nodded again, her frown gone at last. Cinderella left proudly. Her job was done. She might have to thank Sora for that, though.

* * *

“Ah, Cloud, there you are! Hiding from me? Flirting with pretty ladies? Or perhaps with handsome gentlemen?”

Cloud glared at Tifa, who was joining him with two crystal glasses filled with a golden beverage. “You have to try that champagne. It’s better than anything we can find in Radiant Garden.”

Cloud said nothing, taking the glass. Tifa laughed. “Oh, come on, are you really that angry at me? It’s not my fault! Marlene said she wanted to go to a ball, and we took her to one!”

“I don’t remember her saying I should wear a dress, though,” he finally muttered between his teeth. Tifa shrugged.

“Now that was  _ Leon _ ’s idea. He said that you were probably more refined and educated than me, and that you’d be quite convincing as a Princess. I hate to admit it, but you  _ do _ look more gorgeous in that dress than I ever could. And don’t deny it, I look good in that outfit!”

When Cloud had been wearing a purple dress (and makeup that Aerith had a lot of fun putting on his face), Tifa was wearing a tuxedo, her hair tied up the way the men did here. They really didn’t blend in at all, but Cinderella had been right: no one asked anything. How could she see through the fact that he was from another world, but not that he was a man? Or had she been delicate enough to just mind her business and not ask any unrequired question? He could feel how kind she was. She kind of reminded him of Aerith, using kindness as a weapon but not taking no as an answer, never giving up even though he wouldn’t quite talk to her.

“Cloud? You’re smi~ling~... What’s happening?” Tifa was clearly enjoying herself, humming her words with a grin on her face. He suspected Marlene was not the only one who had wanted to go to that ball.

“Nothing. Let’s go find Marlene. After everything she’s put me through, she owes me a dance.”

“Oh, but that cannot do!” Tifa gasped, looking fakely alarmed. “In case you haven’t noticed, you are a lady tonight, and so is she! That is no proper dancing etiquette at the court!”

“I’m sure they will bend the rules for a six-year-old kid. Unless  _ you _ want to dance?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Tifa said with a sigh, taking Cloud’s hand. “And this time,  _ I  _ take the lead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, if you are not familiar with our calendars, Saphir and I always impose one "ship" (doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic thing, mostly two characters interacting as the main topic) to the other one for a prompt. Mine this year was Cinderella and Cloud!
> 
> Eleventh theme is Dream!


	11. Dream

Kairi woke up with a gasp. It was the fifth time this week she had a nightmare - and it was only Tuesday. She took some time to calm herself, staring at the wall in front of her. She was becoming an expert at breathing exercises. If only she didn’t have to do them in the first place.

She grabbed a dress to wear and left her room for the kitchen. Her mother was already there, and she smiled at her.

“Good morning sweetheart! Got any plans for today?”

She nodded, trying to forget her dream. “Same as every day off! We’ll be spending time on the beach, then probably have lunch at Riku’s. Oh, and I promised Selphie we’d go shopping this afternoon, is that okay with you?”

“Of course, but don’t be late for dinner, we’re celebrating your father’s birthday tonight!”

“How could I forget?” she chuckled, even though her terrible night had wiped that memory away. She pictured the watch she got him, carefully wrapped in some colourful fabric, in the drawer of her nightstand. She might have forgotten this morning, but yesterday Kairi had her covered.

She grabbed a waffle on the table and hurried off the house with a smile to her mother.

* * *

Sora was already there, waiting for her. She ran to him.

“Sorry I’m late! Mom wanted to chat a bit, and I woke up late, and I-”

“Kairi, it’s okay,” Sora giggled. “There’s no hurry. Holidays, remember? Everything you do, you must do it in a relaxing way. You deserve that.”

She sighed, sitting on the sand. Sora sat next to her in an exaggerated slowness, as if to illustrate his words. “Okay, tell me. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, really,” she tried to minimize, although her eyes betrayed her. “It’s just… I don’t sleep well, lately. It’s probably just the stress, with all that studying. Makes me go crazy. It felt so real... I don’t want to think about that, please. Can we talk about literally anything else?”

Sora smiled at her, and she felt warmer. “Of course. But please don’t keep to yourself anything that hurts you, okay? I don’t like knowing you’re in pain. And remember I’ll always be by your side. I promised, didn’t I?”

She just smiled back at him, and looked at the sea.

“How long until we’re grown ups?”

“Urgh, forever,” Sora sighed. “They keep saying stuff like ‘you’ll understand once you’ve grown up’ but it feels like we’ll never reach that age! Why is time so slow?”

“As soon as we’re old enough, let’s get onto a boat and sail across the world! There’s so much I want to explore!”

“We’ll finally be pirates for real!” Sora’s eyes were sparkling. “We will be old enough to drink rum and sing songs with forbidden words! We will sail across the Seven Seas and bring treasures home! We will be so rich!”

“No killing, and no stealing, though, okay?” Kairi said, frowning, remembering pirate stories. “We will be nice people. Nice pirates.”

“Not even stealing the rich to give to the poor?” he said with puppy eyes. She sighed.

“Only the  _ mean _ rich people.”

“Deal!”

They remained silent for a while, staring at the horizon. They loved their island very much, but the thought of going out to explore would make them love it even more. They had been talking of their journey on the sea since they were children, and dreaming of the day they would finally be able to set sail.

“However, I’m not sure you will be allowed on my ship, Kairi!”

Kairi stared at him blankly for a second. “Excuse-me? And why would that be?”

Sora looked gravely at her, even though his eyes were smiling at her. “You clearly still look sad, Kairi, and that ship runs on happy faces! Oh, Riku’s here!”

She turned back to see their friend smiling at them, going their way. As they both stood up, she heard Sora sigh by her side.

“Haaa, it’s time to go, I guess.”

“To go? What do you mean? We can stay here a bit longer, there’s still some time before lunch!”

Sora shook his head with a smile. “It was fun, but let’s stop pretending. You knew already, didn’t you?

She couldn’t look at him, and she shook her head. “Kairi… I told you. Happy faces. Not a fake smile to pretend you’re okay. I want you to talk to other people. I don’t want you to be sad.”

“It was real,” she whispered. “They’re not just nightmares. You’re really… gone.”

“Tell Riku I said hi. And I stand by my words. I’m always by your side. And I will know if you don’t try to be happy.”

She laughed sadly.

“Kairi?”

Riku was standing next to her. “You okay?”

“I am,” she lied. But even though he had vanished, she could feel Sora’s intense stare. “No. I don’t know. I’m just… I’m not really okay, Riku. How are  _ you _ ?”

He took her hand, carefully, almost shyly. She realised he was shaking. With her answer, she had broken down his assurance - no, his  _ mask _ . Just like her, he had been pretending, probably for her sake, just like she was pretending for his sake.

“Pretty much the same. But we’ll find him. I don’t know when, I don’t know how. But we’ll bring him back.”

“And when we do, we need to greet him with happy faces. I promised him.”

“Did you?” Riku chuckled. “Funny, I promised the exact same thing.”

She squeezed his fingers gently, and this time, her smile wasn’t fake.

“Let’s find him, and let’s make him proud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twelvth (twelfth? HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT ENGLISH PEOPLE) theme is taking you to War!


	12. War

You start panting. You have run so much your legs are aching. Your arms are heavy, your heart even more. And you are terrified.

All around you, people are fighting. Strangers. Friends. People from your union, people from other unions. You even spot someone from your party. You are terrified.

How could things evolve like this? You remember when tensions were just that. Taunts between unions. Now that you think about it, you can’t even recall a time where these tensions didn’t exist. 

You know them all. You might have never met some of them, but you know them still. They are just like you. A week ago they were travelling through worlds collecting Lux, being certain they were fighting for the Light and to keep peace, and now they were taking lives, fighting friends and making war. 

You are there too, but you don’t want to fight. You don’t want to hurt them, and you don’t want to hurt them. But you fight, too. You have to, because if you don’t, they will hurt you. You try to talk them out of it. To realise how absurd this situation is. But they don’t see you, they don’t hear you. All they want is to fight, they don’t see you as a friend but as a target. Someone has spread the rumour that you can steal someone’s Light by taking them down. This had a terrible effect. You’re almost sure that by now, half of the people you know are gone.

There’s nothing you can do, and you’re just standing here, in the middle of the battleground. You wonder how long you can still stay here. What now? What after? You are here but you don’t want to fight, what exactly are you expecting from this? Did you come here to watch them die? Or just to hope for a quick death, and then chickened out?

You can’t help but thinking about them, the Dandelions. Ephemer. Skuld. Everyone. They said they could avoid the war. Not that they could prevent it, or stop it. All they had to offer was to survive it. And they wanted you to join them, they wanted you to survive. You had considered it. And you had felt hurt, angry. Why would  _ you _ be worth surviving, and not the person next to you? You had felt scared. You had considered again. Then you had refused. Even as you think about it now, you don’t regret. You couldn’t have lived with yourself if your friends had died, knowing you didn’t try to stop them. To save them. Where are the Dandelions now? Are they safe? You hope they are. You hope they found a way out. You hope they won’t leave with the guilt you would have had. They have to survive, they have to carry Light and Hope with them.

You feel a burn in your back. You have been struck down. By who? It doesn’t really matter. You don’t even want to know. You want to remember everyone as friends.

You fall to your knees. It hurts. Dying hurts. You don’t want to die. You should have joined the Dandelions anyway. It rains. You are cold. You are dying.

You are cold.

It hurts.

It doesn’t hurt so much anymore.

It doesn’t hurt anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was featuring... YOU! I mean, if you played KHUX. Poor Player losing everything to a war they didn't want....
> 
> Thirteenth theme is 'Dusk and Dawn'.


	13. Dusk and Dawn

They looked so much alike that they could be mistaken for twins. They had, in fact, been mistaken as such a lot, to the point they didn’t even correct people anymore. They didn’t mind, they really got along, and they were part of a big family anyway. A family that couldn’t even tell them apart sometimes, their new favourite game.

And yet, despite their similar faces and voices, they couldn’t be any more different. One was old, very old, much older than he looked. He was the old man of the family, the grandfather, with memories of war he would rather forget, with much more knowledge than anyone could guess, remembering the worlds when they were one, knowing History that happened way before anything in the History books.

The other was merely a baby. One of the newborns of the family, he had his second birthday not too long ago. Almost all his life had been under a controlling person, doing things he didn’t really want to do, fighting for a cause he didn’t quite understand. But even in these dark times, being told he wasn’t supposed to feel anything, he learnt friendship and love, he learnt how to care, how to stand for what mattered, how to leave when it became too much. It was a hard time for him learning to trust people again, but he was working on it.

They could both have lived their whole life without ever knowing the existence of the other. They lived on different worlds, knew different people, nothing in common that would make them meet one day. Nothing, but one boy.

Sora.

The connection.

Sora, who brought Ventus back to life. Sora, who brought Roxas to this world.

The bridge between them.

Ventus had forged his bond with Sora on the day the boy was born. The dawn of his life. Ventus had endured so much pain, and lost so much, that he had been about to simply give up on everything. But a newborn heart found him, offered some help that Ventus couldn’t just refuse. Sora had made him strong again. And once again, when Ventus’s heart was shattered into pieces, when he had to destroy himself to protect the worlds, Sora had welcomed him with a smile. He had let him stay for years, warm, safe, away from Xehanort and his evil plans, and he never asked for anything in return. And he saved Ven a third time, returning him to his body, allowing him to wake up and to go back to his family. Sora had done everything for him, only because it felt natural to him. 

Roxas’s existence was his bond with Sora. Born from the boy’s sacrifice to save Kairi, Roxas had spent most of his life not quite even hearing about Sora. Sora was the boy he sometimes saw in dreams, an imaginary friend who would do anything for his friend, a role model he wasn’t sure he had made up or not. Sora was the exact reason Roxas was alive. He slept for a whole year, allowing Roxas to live that time on his own. Without Sora, Xion probably wouldn’t exist either. Roxas owed him his life, and his best friend’s. And for Sora, they all had been ready to sacrifice themselves, to repay their debt. Xion, first, understood how important it was that she returned to him, that Xemnas couldn’t use them. Roxas decided it was about time to wake him up. And even Axel died protecting the boy. Roxas and Xion were saved by Sora, his heart bringing them back. And they had been by his side until the very end, until he decided he would sacrifice his life once again to save Kairi, and to save them all. Roxas had felt their connection fade away the second Sora disappeared. He had stayed by his side until the dusk of his life.

* * *

The two identical boys exchanged a comprehensive look. Sora was the reason they were here today. They had seen the sun rise and set on his life. But if there was a thing they knew more than anyone else, it was that daybreak would always return after dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fourteenth theme is 'The Light Behind Your Eyes", and yeah I felt like capitalizing everything. Whatcha gonna do?


	14. The light behind your eyes

“You have changed, Naminé,” Riku said, looking at her. The girl stopped drawing and looked at him, surprised, her cheeks flushing a bit.

“Oh, uh… Yes. Kairi thought braids would suit me. … Do they?”

“It does suit you, but that’s not what I meant,” he replied, stifling a laugh. He had not really noticed her new hairstyle - or rather had not really an opinion about it. This time, her whole face flushed quite violently, a panicked looked on her eyes.

“No, of course not. You don’t care about that, obviously. I’m sorry, I thought I… Sorry. Sorry.”

Riku sighed, still smiling, and took a chaid next to her.

“We still have some work to do on self confidence here. I’ll ask Kairi to teach you that, this is going to be some spartan training with her. All I meant is that you look happier. You have  _ almost _ stopped looking as if you believed you didn’t belong here. I’m glad.”

She looked embarrassed, but he could see her face soften. “It’s thanks to everyone. Everyone here is so nice… So welcoming. Even the ones I was a bit scared of at first turn out to be really kind.”

“People you were scared of? Like who?” He had a hard time imagining her being scared of Kairi and Xion, with who she spent most of her time.

“Well, the former Organization members,” she confessed, staring at her drawing book on her lap. “After all I’ve been through… They scared me a lot. But Ienzo really tries to make it up and told me to ask him if I needed anything, and Aeleus looks a bit scary at first… No, he looks  _ incredibly terrifying _ at first, but he’s actually really kind and told me a lot about Radiant Garden. He even had a room prepared for me inside the Castle for anytime I come back there and had it furnished with anything I wanted. They look really sorry for their time in the Organization and they want me to finally feel home. And there’s Axel, of course. He has changed the most. He’s not quite so manipulative anymore. Isa is still learning to be warmer and more open than Saïx was, and Axel is helping him a lot with that. They ask me to join them sometimes, and it’s nice.”

All the embarrassment was gone from her face now. Her eyes were full of excitement and love, and it was easy to realise how much she cared about them all.

“Look at you know, having a myriad of friends. That’s wonderful. I think they are helping you finding your place in the world, but let me tell you one thing, Naminé: you are helping them just as much. You are the redemption they needed. And I think they really like having you around. Did you know that Ienzo put that last drawing you made him in his lab?”

“Did he?”

“Of course he did. Had it framed on the wall. Finally a bit of colour in their depressing lab. It’s good you have been able to forgive them for what they did back then. They really felt bad about it.”

“I don’t know if I could forget everyone, to be completely honest with you.” Her eyes looked a bit sad. “If I ever met Marluxia or Larxene again… They were horrible to me. Cruel. The others mostly just ignored me, but the two of them hurt me a lot. I hope that getting their hearts back made them good people again, but I also hope that I will never cross path with them again. Ever.”

Riku nodded gently. “I’ll do my best to ensure that will never happen, then. Wishing they have become nice people is very noble of you. You could just have wished they were paying the price of their action somewhere.” She looked horrified, so he chuckled. “Of course you would never have thought about that. You are, after all, very similar to Sora. Never wishing anyone something wrong. I admire you for that.”

They both fell silent for a short while. He could see by her eyes she wanted to say something else, but somehow didn’t, so he gave her all the time she needed, until she finally broke the silence.

“There was someone else I used to be terrified of.”

“Was there? Oh, you mean Even, perhaps?”

She shook her head. “You.”

This hit hard. He did his best to keep his composure, but her words echoed in his whole body and hurt. But when she looked at him, he didn’t see any anger, any hate, any fear. Just love, and pride.

“You had to choose a difficult path because of me. You wanted to protect Sora, and in order to do so, there were sacrifices to be made. To be completely honest with you, you scared me back then. Saving Sora was the only thing that mattered to you, and if that meant using people in order to do so, that’s exactly what you would do. And I am telling you that because  _ you _ have changed. You have made amends so many times, and yet I know  _ you _ think it’s still not enough. You feel bad for how you treated me and now you are ensuring I am doing alright all the time. You of all people are spending your life trying to make up for your past mistakes. I think it’s about time  _ you _ stop believing your job is simply to help people, but that you have no right to stay by their side. You are right, Riku, I have changed, and I’m much happier now than I’ve ever been. Don’t you think it’s  _ your _ turn to be really happy and to notice you belong with us?”

He gasped at her, looking at her as if he saw her for the very first time. She had spent much more time with Kairi than he had originally thought, apparently. Her eyes were teasing, her smile honest and sincere. She was probably right. He was so busy trying to make sure everyone was fine that he never took time for himself. He finally relaxed and chuckled.

“I guess it’s time for you to teach me how to do that, then. What do people do when they have some time off?”

“We’ll start with a stroll across the city,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Then we will be having lunch with Hayner, Pence and Olette at the Bistro. After that, Roxas will take you skateboarding, and we’ll all have ice cream by the clocktower, with Axel and Isa. And then…”

He let her decide for the planning of the day. He could see by her eyes that she had learnt to enjoy herself. Perhaps it was time for him to learn how to do that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept writing this one as "the light between your eyes" and it suddenly sounds a lot more like there's a sniper... oops
> 
> Fifteenth theme is "Darkness"! A classic theme for KH, isn't it?


	15. Darkness

“I can’t believe you losers are back.”

“I mean,  _ you _ are back as well. Makes you a loser too, Larxene.”

“Shut up Demyx.”

The four of them were sitting around a table, playing a game of poker that was clearly rigged. At least, that was what Larxene had claimed at least twice by now, rather than admitting she didn’t know the rules. She was facing Marluxia, having Luxord and Demyx on either side of her, and the latter and her were exchanging violent kicks under the table.

“What exactly brought you all back here?” Luxord asked, shuffling the cards. A somewhat heavy silence followed his question. He sighed. “Larxene, Marluxia. Rumours had it you had tried to betray the Organization, when in Castle Oblivion. Why are you back? What did Xemnas promise you this time?”

The man was an expert at body language. It was, after all, a very useful trick when playing cards. He noticed how Larxene looked uneasy for a second, glancing at Marluxia who did not look at her. He noticed how instead, the former number Eleven tensed, clenching his jaw, his eyes full of anger and motivation. He noticed Demyx’s smirk. And all of that happened in less than half a second.

“He offered me another game,” the player said as no one answered. “He said the players would be even more interesting this time. That there would be just as much to lose as before, but much more to win. I’m always up for a new challenge, so here I am now.”

“He said he could give me exactly what I wanted.” Larxene said, her voice low and threatening. “He said I would get to see the world burn. He said I would be the one to set it on fire.”

This was half a lie only, her body said. It might have been exactly what Xemnas had offered her, and what she wanted indeed. But Luxord remembered the caring look she gave to Marluxia for a split second. Xemnas had said he could grant her greatest wish. But that wasn’t why she joined.

“I see. I’m glad to be on your side, then, as I would rather not burn.”

She snorted. “There’s no side, Luxord. Act as a douche and you will burn all the same. I don’t trust Xemnas anyway, so I’m quite sure it won’t end pretty for anyone of us. Doesn’t mean I didn’t save a pyre specially for Demyx.”

“You did what?”

“Don’t worry, Waterboy, at least you’ll look hot for a minute of your pitiful life. Really hot.  _ Reaaaaally _ hot.”

“Yes, thank you, I understood the joke,” the musician snapped. “But remember I control water. Water beats fire. Ha! Got you there!”

“How old are you, three? That’s some kid reasoning here. Urgh, I can’t believe you are-”

“What about you, Marluxia?” Luxord interrupted, tired by their endless bickering. “How could Xemnas possibly offer you a second chance? Surely you have wondered yourself?”

“As for the why, it’s pretty obvious,” the pink-haired man said with a mysterious smile. “He never believed I could be a threat in his plan. I never worried him in the least. And yet I am quite powerful, an asset in his game, to speak as you would. That is why he wanted me back. The rebellious child with potential.”

“And what could that rebellious child want from the Organization?”

“More power, of course.” He shrugged. “Just the power of Darkness is incredible. You get to teleport through worlds in no time. My powers are amplified. Oh, and of course, I get to spend time with all of you, isn’t that wonderful?” He winked at Luxord with a smirk, but the man noticed that this time, it was Marluxia’s eyes who drifted towards Larxene for a split second. He chuckled. These two were having a hard time pretending they didn’t care about each other, perhaps even lying to themselves about it, but for someone attentive like him, that had been pretty obvious from day one.

“How truly blessed we are indeed,” Luxord ironized, throwing a couple of chips on the table. “Now, Demyx, you might be the true mystery here. I thought you hated being part of the former Organization. You of all people I would never have expected being back.”

“Waterboy was probably bored and followed Xemnas just to be busy again. Oh, no, let me guess, you were too scared to say no!”

“Perhaps he realised that he had never quite been punished for doing absolutely nothing, still got paid, and had a bed and food for free,” Marluxia said. “The real question isn’t why  _ he _ decided to come back, but why  _ Xemnas _ thought we needed him.”

“So I’m not even allowed to answer to a question asked to me, huh?” Demyx frowned. “Do I even need to answer, or are you both deciding for me anyway?”

“Ouch, he bites now,” Larxene cackled. “Please, Demyx, enlighten us, we cannot sleep not knowing your motives to join us once again!”

He glared angrily at her, not replying for a while. It would have been more dramatic if she had at least noticed his angry gaze, but she was chatting with Marluxia, ignoring him already.

“... cookies.”

That at least managed to shut her up. The table fell quiet, looking at him.

“Come again?”

“There was this ad in the world I was.  _ Join the darkside, we have cookies _ , it said. What can I say, I was hungry! Next thing I know I signed back in and I was back in the coat.”

A silence followed his statement.

“And there was no cookie.”

This resulted in at least a whole hour of Larxene making fun and insulting the musician, and Marluxia pretending he didn’t exist at all like he always did.

Luxord was looking at them all. Did they really believe that story? Or was Larxene just looking for any excuse to bully him?

Demyx was the one he had the most troubles reading through. Given his own background, he couldn’t judge, of course, but he was deeply interested in the young man. How much of Demyx gullibility was genuine? And how much of it was just pretending he was stupid to hide how clever he was? Because he was, Luxord had no doubt about that. There was a reason Xemnas recruited him twice. And it seemed everyone was more than willing to play his game, believing he was some kind of dumb creature, and that only Luxord, Xemnas - and probably Xigbar, who was always very knowledgeable about everything - saw the potential behind that weakling facade. 

But, as curious as he was, he didn’t really like to butt in other’s business. One day, Demyx would finally reveal his cards.

And that was a game he would love watching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luxord wasn't really meant to be the main character, and this got a biiiit more serious than expected, but my 1st idea was just that Demyx came back because he fell to "Come the Darkside, we have cookies!"  
> Now is Demyx dumb for real or not, only the DLC (and the 1545154 other games) will tell...
> 
> Sixteenth theme is "One that got away"


	16. One that got away

The doorbell rings, and a young woman opens the door with a huge smile. She is pretty, in her mid-twenties, with pixie short dark hair and hazel eyes.

“Come in! It’s been a while since your last visit, I was starting to worry something happened to you.”

The man standing at the door smiles back at her and steps inside the flat. He is older than her, his hair streaked with grey, a patch on one of his eyes. He hangs his black coat next to a similar one on the coat rack.

“Would you like some tea? Coffee, perhaps?”

“Tea is fine,” he says as he takes a seat around the table, remembering how bad her coffee is. “Still liking it here?”

“Oh, I love this town.” She pours the tea into two mugs and sits in front of him. “And business is working well, so I cannot complain much.”

“Look at you,” the man chuckles. “Started from nothing, and now one of the most successful designers in all Shibuya. Good for you.”

“And you are to thank for that, Luxu, I will not forget.”

It was true she wasn’t always that successful business woman walking through the city with assurance and confidence. A decade ago, she had been the exact opposite of that. Luxu said she had started from nothing - she had started from _being_ nothing.

At night, she would sometimes still dream of these days, and wake up in tears.

* * *

She was cold. She was scared. And she was alone. These three words summed up her whole existence. This cell was all she could remember. She had no idea how she ended up here. Perhaps she had been born here? No, she was certain she came from the outside. Certain there was at least someone waiting for her out there. All she owned to remind her of that was that scrap of red fabric. She didn’t remember who it belonged to, but she knew this was a promise: they would see each other again.

Not all days were bad. Or rather, some day were less terrible than others. She would sometimes get some surprise visits that would brighten up her day a little bit. She would also get visits from people in white coats and that never resulted in a better day.

There were other children with her. She supposed they were children, supposed she was too, even though she had no idea how old she was, or even what her face looked like. She had long dark hair, that she could see, but that and that only. And the other children, they kept screaming and crying. She would not. She had long understood this wouldn’t lead to anything. She saved her voice for her pleasant visits. She saved her tears for the unpleasant ones. And one by one, the other children fell silent. Some probably had the same thought process as she had. But she couldn’t help thinking that perhaps, some of them were gone. She would never be able to hear them voices again. She didn’t know their names or their faces, but she would occasionally shed a tear for them.

She didn’t know her own name either. The scientists would call her _Subject X_ , so X had become her name. Did all the other children have a letter? Were there initially 26 of them? How many were left now? Were they taken down in order? How long before W was gone? How long did she have left? She didn’t even know what they wanted with them either. All the adults said when they were testing her was that she had a “strong light”. She didn’t know what that meant, or if that was a good thing, but she suspected that was the reason she was still there when other were not. On good days, she would pray that her light stayed strong. On bad days, she would just hope it went out and put her out of her misery.

Even though she didn’t remember them, she had friends out there, she knew that. She hoped they were alright, that they didn’t have to go through the same terrible things she did - or even worse. Would they remember her? Or was there just a kid out there wondering why their scarf was missing a piece of fabric? It would make her sad that they forgot about her, but she wouldn’t blame them. She had forgotten about them, after all. Deep inside, she hoped that one day, they would be reunited, and they would remember.

* * *

One day was very different from the others. She heard the people in white being really nervous all morning. Something was happening. Something good, or something bad, she had no idea. But she had long stopped hoping that something good would happen.

So when the door opened, she just blankly looked up. There was a man she never saw before standing there. He was wearing a black coat and had a patch on his eye.

“There’s no time to explain,” he said, throwing her something. Another black coat. “Put this on and follow me.”

“Who are you?”

“Not now. Later.”

She had no reason to follow him, but she had no reason to stay in there either. She put the black coat on and took a hesitant step forward. He offered his hand. No one ever did that. She decided to give him a chance. She took his hand, not knowing this decision would change her life.

“Can’t use portals down there, magic is blocked here,” she could hear him grumble as they were running. “We need to get outside and hope no one sees us. Luckily, it’s such a mess out there we might be fine.”

“Wait,” she suddenly said, stopping abruptly. He looked at her, annoyed she wasn’t running anymore. “The other kids. The other ones. We need to let them go too!”

He sternly shook his head, looking almost sad for a second. “I’m sorry, kid. There’s no other kid. You’re the only one left.”

His words left her breathless. Tears filled her eyes, and she collapsed on the floor. “I see… So they are… All of them…”

“Listen, there is one of them left, and that is you. And if we stay here, then you’re as good as gone too. We need to leave.”

But she couldn’t walk. She didn’t even want to. What was the point? Why should _she_ survive when all of them did not?

The man muttered something and kneeled next to her. She expected him to perhaps say nice things, to try to comfort her, but he didn’t bother. He just picked her up and started running again, as if she was weightless.

* * *

Suddenly, they were outside at last. It was the first time she saw the sky in… How long had it been? Years? It was beautiful. She could feel the wind on her skin, she could smell the smoke. Smoke?

The town was being destroyed. Buildings were on fire, some of them collapsing. People were screaming and running. Monsters that looked familiar to her went after these people.

“What is happening?” she asked in a very tiny voice, wondering for the first time if the cell was a safer place than outside.

“They have been creating heartless for years and now they are surprised they are trying to destroy the world. The place doesn’t have long left. I need to get you out of here before it is destroyed completely. Now, time to go. Can you walk now?”

She nodded, and he put her down, taking her hand back in his. From the flick of the wrist, he made something appear out of thin air. _A portal_ , she thought. She had used these before. Her body remembered. “Now we run in there and we don’t stop until we’re on the other side. Got it?”

She nodded once again, and he dragged her through the portal. She could feel the darkness around them, trying to catch them, but yet never reaching them, as if they had some sort of protection spell around them. After a couple of minutes of running, they could finally see the way out, and they stepped into a brand new world.

“We made it,” he sighed. She was panting, but he merely looked tired from running all the way. She had many questions to ask, but she decided to look around for a bit.

She had never been there before, she was sure of that. This world was full of tall buildings made of glass and iron, and lights everywhere. The place was full of people who didn’t spare them a single glance, all walking very quickly in all directions.

“Where are we?”

“Shibuya. Follow me.”

She did, worried she would lose him in the crowd if she let go of his hand. “Who are you?”

“In a moment. Here, go in there.”

They walked into a café that was almost empty. “Welcome to the WildKat,” a man said, looking bored out of his mind. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have your house blend coffee, and she will have…” He looked at her who was completely lost. “Bring her a hot chocolate and pancakes.”

“Right away.” The waiter disappeared, leaving them alone.

“Now’s a right time for questions, kid.”

“Who are you?” she asked for the third time today.

“I’m not sure I can give you that information right now. People used to call me Braig. Let’s use that name for now.”

“Why did you help me?”

“I had a debt to pay back.”

“A debt?”

“Let’s just say I promised an old friend to keep an eye on people for her and that didn’t end all too well. So now I’m trying to make it up for that.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“You might have noticed how many people there were out there? Makes it harder to find you. You should be safe in here.”

“Do you know who _I_ am?”

“Yeah. Do you want to know?”

_Yes_ , she wanted to scream, but she actually thought about it. She wanted to find her friends and remember about them on her own. She didn’t want her past to be served on a silver plate by a man she did not know. This was her journey.

“Just my name, then.”

“Skuld.”

She nodded. The name sounded familiar.

“What now?”

“I have secured a few things for you. You are going to stay there and make your life here. There are simple rules to follow: if you ever can use magic again, _don’t_. If you feel you’re in danger, the coat will help conceal your light. And don’t ever tell anyone where you are from.”

“What about you?”

“I will go back to my world. I still need to keep an eye on how things are going. I might need to stick my nose in their business for a while.”

“There are two boys,” she softly said. “They were nice to me. Lea and Isa. Could you… Could you make sure they are safe?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he snorted.

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Do you want to?” He asked, and he looked genuinely surprised. She nodded. He was one of the few people she felt she could trust. “Well, I’ll see what I can do. I guess that in order to pay that debt back, I need to check in on you from time to time… I’ll bring you the latest news about world order. Is that fine with you?”

“I would love that.”

They drank and ate and this was her very first real meal in so long that she started crying again. The waiter - who turned out to be the owner - asked if the food was that bad, but she shook her head saying it was the best thing she had in years. Braig laughed at her and waited until she was done eating to get up.

“Well, I have to go, kid. My world is on fire, after all, they might need me. We’ll meet again.”

He was about to step outside the café when he stopped.

“You really don’t remember a thing, do you?”

“Not one,” she said sadly. Somehow, he looked relieved.

“The name’s Luxu. Don’t tell anyone.”

* * *

It was only after she was gone that the owner walked back to her. Panicking, she looked at him with big round eyes.

“Wait, I don’t have any money… He left, and I cannot-”

“Relax, kid,” the man sighed. “He took care of everything already. Paid upfront.”

Relieved, she nodded, before frowning again. “But what will I do? Where will I go?”

“Told you he took care of everything. He gave me a nice amount of money to make sure you lacked of nothing. He helped me out a while ago and now it’s time for me to help _him_ out, I guess…” He sighed again. “I’m no babysitter, though… Anyway, I’ve got a spare room. And he signed you up in middle school. Said your name was… Stella. Congrats, Stella, you are apparently my niece who moved in to my place after your parents disappeared! Enjoy your new life in Shibuya, and don’t cause me any trouble, because despite the insane sum he gave me to keep an eye on you, I won’t go get you if you get arrested or something, and if you run away, I won’t look for you. I’m Hanekoma, by the way. Call me Mister H, everyone does, I don’t care. Welcome to your new life, kid.”

* * *

Skuld smiles at her tea. So much had changed since then. Finishing middle school, working part-time at the WildKat, graduating college, starting her own fashion brand, _Stellar_ , known for its characteristic stars on every design, moving out to her own flat. Having Luxu visit once a year with news on how good or bad the worlds evolved. He never hid anything, acknowledging he was doing bad things, and yet she never judged. He made sure Lea and Isa lost their hearts, but that way they would not die when their world faced destruction. He helped the Organization XIII destroy more worlds, but that was necessary for the new Keyblade Hero to become stronger - and all worlds would be restored, its people saved.

“So what are the news today, Luxu?”

He smiles and leans back into his chair.

“How much do you know about the Reaper’s Game, kid?”

“The Reaper’s Game? You mean the game offering a second chance at life to a few people gone too soon? Uncle H told me about it. Why?”

“Well, it turns out there might soon be a brand new player.”

“Someone you know? What is his name?”

Luxu’s grin gets even bigger, as he leans in to whisper the name.

“How much have I already told you about Sora?”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pheeew! That one was my longest prompt for this calendar. Had I been told that I would one day write "a fic with Xigbar and Skuld getting along in the world of 'The World ends with you'", ha! I would have made fun of them forever. But the second I came with this thought, I've been overexcited. A grown up Skuld is a thought I do cherish a lot, and I cannot be grateful enough for [AppleCat](https://twitter.com/Applecat_01) who provided this illustration for her! Since I sent her to Shibuya, she had to do something fashion related, and I like to think that her clothes are trending enough to be of use in the Reapers Game!  
> Do you think Sora is actually *in* the TWEWY Shibuya? The second I saw the 104 tower at the end of KH3 I almost cried. Twewy holds a very dear place to my heart and I hope we'll get to see them kids again, even though it looks a bit more like a Verum Rex world... We shall see in the future!
> 
> Anyway, seventeenth theme is Black Heart!


	17. Black Heart

Was it fine to do something right, but for the wrong reasons?

Ava was looking at the town from the clocktower. Usually, that view would relax her, seeing her familiar town waking up in the morning, all the wielders setting off for their usual missions, collecting light.

She, too, had been in their place, a young girl waking every morning wondering where she would be off to that day, what place she would visit, what monsters she would have to face and how much Lux she would collect. Wonder if she would have collected enough to collect one more level on her Wielder Licence, or if she was going to be lucky enough to get stronger cards next time. Knowing she was keeping the world safe, and going to bed with a smile, knowing the world was a little bit better thanks to her.

She crossed her arms. When did things go all wrong? Were they already wrong when she was one of them?

She had thought of fighting Heartless as a way to purify the world, and in a way, to cleanse her soul. If the world was pure, so was her heart. Heartless were a reflection of human darkness, so getting rid of them was making everyone’s light brighter. At least that how she had seen it, sweet and naive as she was. She realised now that even then, even before the unions existed, it had been some sort of competition. Her comrades had been competing over who would get the highest level, the world was divided between who had strong cards and the others.

Children these days fought using Medals rather than Cards, and they fought for their unions rather than themselves, but the issue remained. The issued worsened, with the competition between unions. They were striving towards the same goal, but still fought to see who would reach it first. It was endless, and it only darkened their hearts a little bit every day.

Did they got to bed thinking they did good that day? That the world was getting better thanks to them, unaware it was actually getting worse? And what was the solution, then? Ask them to stop fighting altogether?

She sighed under her mask. The solution, she knew. It wasn’t ideal, of course, but it was her role. Master’s orders. Would it fix everything? Or just delay things a bit more? Even if she asked him, she doubted he would answer.

Her role. Find a few chosen ones who would escape the upcoming war. They would carry hope and peace with them. And she was the one to decide who lived and who didn’t. It felt unfair, but she wouldn’t question the Master. He had given her a list of candidates, but she was free to chose whoever she wanted. He just had picked the new leaders. She had agreed with his list, knowing all of these kids already, and knowing they would do a very fine job. She was still worried about one of the girls, who seemed perhaps a bit too shy, and Ava feared she wouldn’t have the shoulders to carry the weight that came with being a leader, but if the Master had chosen her, then she was probably stronger than Ava thought.

As for the regular Dandelions, Ava knew exactly who to pick. She wanted those whose hearts had not been corrupted by darkness yet. Those who did not care about the competition, or the unions. Those who still believed in peace, and had not given hope up yet.

She quickly wiped away a tear and left the Tower.

It was time to chose who deserved to live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Such a heavy fate, Ava...
> 
> Let's have a lighter day tomorrow with the theme "Just for one day"!


	18. Just for one day

Despite being in the middle of Fall, the weather was wonderful, ideal for a picnic. And that’s what the whole crew decided to do. Not only all the keyblade wielders, but basically all who could travel through worlds. They even had considered bringing Hayner, Pence and Olette, but Donald had made them promise to keep the world order before going back to spend the weekend with his lovely wife.

They had settled in a beautiful world where the leaves were so bright it looked like the trees were on fire. Many people around them were sharing a meal as well, enjoying this lovely evening with music and laughters.

* * *

“Now, close your eyes, Riku, and don’t open them until I tell you to.”

“That thing tickles, though,” he grumbled.

“Don’t move.”

Naminé was really focused, painting Riku’s face. He had agreed after she had asked him with her big puppy eyes (and after he noticed Kairi’s murderous glare behind her if he dared say no), and she was now painting a skull on his face, full of colours and flowers, the way people did here. He patiently waited, his face a canvas for her imagination, not caring much as long as she was happy.

* * *

“Don’t move. Don’t even blink.”

“Hurry up, then. It won’t stay here all night.”

“I’m trying to find the right angle!”

Xion was very carefully moving around Isa, her gummi phone in hand. A vibrant green bird had settled in Isa’s hair, and Xion was trying to take a picture of it, very worried it would fly away. Isa wasn’t exactly ecstatic about being a nest, but it was the first time Xion was so relaxed around him and he didn’t want to ruin that. He had troubles forgiving himself for what he did as Saïx, and he could tell that even though she was trying hard, she still feared him a lot. Having her gawk, giggle, and basically trust him was something he would never have expected to see happening.  _ Click _ . He heard the sound of the camera, and turned his head a little bit too harshly, causing the bird to realise his nest wasn’t exactly in a tree and fly away.

“Oh, I… Sorry. Did you get it?”

“I did! Look at that!” She beamed at him while showing the picture, and he felt his throat tighten. She wasn’t looking at him with anxiety, she wasn’t slightly hiding behind Lea. She was smiling at him, the way she smiled at all of her friends. When she said he should use the photo as his profile picture, he couldn’t say no.

* * *

“Al~right… Who’s who?”

Lea squinted, staring at them both. “Ven on the right and Roxas on the left!”

“Explain your choice,” one of the boys said.

“Random pick isn’t allowed,” the other completed.

“Easy!” Lea gave them his confident smirk. “Ventus looks at me in the eyes, but Roxas always looks for my missing marks under them! I know I’m right!”

“And yet,” Ventus said, “you are wrong,” Roxas added. “Too bad, you’re a poor excuse of a friend!” They said together, laughing at a gawking Lea. The young man sighed, shrugging, then in a flash grabbed one of the two boys and started tickling him.

“Axel, stop that, please!” begged the boy, laughing even harder. But Lea didn’t let go.

“I knew it! That was Roxas all along! You both are little liars, I will wash your lying mouths with soap and you will feel sorry!”

All three were laughing really loudly, but no one could blame them. This was a happy place.

* * *

Aqua was smiling, hearing all that joy around her. She had her eyes closed, her head resting on Terra’s shoulder, one of his hand holding hers, the other one on her hip. She would never get tired of feeling the sun on her skin or of hearing people laugh. And she would never get tired of having Terra gently rocking her, dropping kisses in her hair when he thought no one was watching.

“I brought some blankets if you are cold,” he gently whispered when he felt her shiver. She shook her head.

“Not yet. I want to feel the wind a bit longer.” He chuckled, knowing she would fall asleep very soon anyway.

* * *

“ _ You make me un poco loca, un poquititito loca...” _

Kairi was cheerfully playing her guitar, and Sora couldn’t take his eyes of her. Naminé had painted bright flowers all over her face, using orange rather than black to circle her eyes, and she was glowing. She was still training really hard with Lea, but in her free time, she had began to learn to play the guitar - and she had been really excited to show Sora her progress. The melody was still sometimes a bit hazardous, but she had a beautiful voice that covered most of her mistakes. And Sora wasn’t the most objective listener either. He was captivated, completely under her spell, smiling candidly as she played, drinking every second of the time he spent with her, absorbing every detail of her. Once she finished her song, she looked at him, embarrassed. “I’ve still a long way to go.”

He shook his head. “That was perfect. That was the most beautiful song ever, Kairi.”

“Don’t tell her that or she’ll believe it and play it all day long!” Lea yelled, still fighting with Ventus. “You’re not the one who had to endure her  _ training _ !”

“Hey, watch it when you’re talking about her!” Riku said with a fake frown.

“Oooh, my bad, I always forget the etiquette when talking about princesses!”

“Everyone seems happy,” Sora said with a smile. “It was a long way, but it was worth it. Years of sacrifices, but everyone’s smiling again.”

“All thanks to you,” Kairi said, winking at him.

“All thanks to all of us. Alone, I’m worthless.”

“To me, you’re worth everything,” she whispered, looking right into his eyes. They fell silent, completely oblivious to the world around them, until they heard someone chuckle nearby.

“Must be nice, being able to say such things so seriously. Aaah, I miss being young.”

“Terra, you say this kind of things on a daily basis. And don’t interrupt their romantic moment, they’re so cute!”

The magic was broken, and the two teenagers laughed, not embarrassed in the least. They had come to terms with their feelings. Love wasn’t something to be embarrassed of, Sora had told them, and of course no one could have said otherwise.

* * *

The sun finally set, and the moon replaced it, high in the sky. Ventus took bottle of hot chocolate from the picnic bag and offered some to all that were still awake - everyone, but Aqua. Terra threw blankets around them, and they sat in a circle, chatting, Kairi sometimes playing a bit of music, Sora trying to know as much as he could about how everyone’s training was going. He proved himself able to tell Ven from Roxas very easily - _ I know them by heart _ \- he chuckled, to which Lea repeated to whomever cared that he did too and was just tricked, and showed a lot of kindness to Isa who still wasn’t used to it. But it was a fact, Sora had no place in his heart for useless grudges. Isa was trying to repent and Sora had given him forgiveness.

They talked all night long, losing people one by one. Naminé fell asleep, quickly followed by Roxas. Xion didn’t take long either to fall asleep on Lea’s lap. The young man boasted he could last longer than Isa, but they both fell asleep at the very same time. Terra had dozed off somewhere along the way, and Riku lasted almost the whole night. Ventus could barely sleep at all these days, claiming that he had slept enough for another decade, but he was kind enough to pretend he was sleeping too, cuddled against Terra, leaving some room for Kairi and Sora.

“You can sleep too, you know,” the boy said, but she shook her head.

“I’ll sleep once I’m home.”

“Oh, I see, Princesses do not sleep on the ground,” he teased, and she gasped.

“Now you sound just like Lea! Princess this, Princess that, I have a name!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry Kairi. You’re right. You are a Queen, anyway.”

“Hmpf, I like that better, thank you very much.”

They exchanged a smile, their fingers intertwined.

In the tree next to them, a bird started chirping. Sora sighed. “The sun is about to rise, huh? Well, the picnic is officially over! It was a lot of fun!” He jumped to his feet, helping Kairi up.

“Aren’t you forgetting anything, though, Sora?” Riku was looking at him with sleepy eyes. Everyone was waking up, even though it was clearly harder for some than others. Lea had to kick Roxas to wake the boy up for real.

“Mmh, I don’t think I do?” Sora said, confused, tilting his head to the side. “Is… Is it someone’s birthday?”

“I think what Riku meant was that it was rude to leave without saying goodbye,” Kairi whispered to him.

“Oh! Right! I didn’t want to wake you guys, you all have some training tomorrow and need to rest. Ah, but since you are all awake now… It’s hugging time!” he yelled, throwing his arms around Aqua, who hugged him back with a laugh.

And everyone got their hug. Even Isa, who was probably hugged for the first time since he was a child, stiffening, having no idea what to do. Terra actually picked Sora off the ground, making him fly in circles, leaving the boy screaming of joy just like a child. When Terra finally put him back down, Sora had sparkles in his eyes and threw his arms around the big man quickly.

There was only Kairi left. He took her hand, drawing closer, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.

“Thank you for today, Kairi. It was wonderful. The gates only open once a year, so please come back next year as well. You promise?”

Kairi stiffened, letting a very loud sigh out.

“You are aware we are trying to find a way to  _ not _ have to come back next year, right?”

“You mean you don’t want to see me?”

“I mean we will find a way to see you  _ everyday _ , not once a year in a very specific world that required a picture of you we had to sneak on someone’s  _ ofrenda _ , Sora.”

The boy chuckled, slowly letting go of her. “I was just teasing you. Of course I know. And I’m sure you will find a way. But if you don’t… Bring cookies next time, I’m allowed to bring some food back with me!”

Kairi rolled her eyes, and Sora winked. “Sun is really about to rise now, so I absolutely have to go! See you later guys! I love you all! Even you, Isa, so stop looking as if no one cared about you, everyone does!” Whatever advice he gave next was taken away by the wind, as he ran farther and farther away from them, following the line of spirits going back to the Land of the Dead.

They all packed up their things, ready to leave. The picnic was over. Now they all had to find a solution to make sure there would be no next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have guessed I watched Coco not too long ago. I love this movie and especially how it deals with death in a colourful and bright way! (not the act of dying, but rather how remembering the departed can be a moment of joy and sharing happy memories rather than only grief).
> 
> I would love a Coco world in Kingdom Hearts, and I guess Sora might have his ways in now.... x')
> 
> Anyway, our nineteenth theme is "Nightmares"!


	19. Nightmares

_ The dreams are back. _

Ventus wakes up with a start, his head hurting. He’s in his bed, safe in the Land of Departure. Home. But where was he, a minute ago?

He didn’t have nightmares in a very long time. Not  _ this _ kind of nightmare. But they are slowly coming back, haunting every moment his eyes are closed. He doesn’t want to sleep anymore. Not ever again. He hates these dreams. Chirithy says he’s just remembering things, but he’s not so sure. Sometimes, the dreams are just too real.

Tonight, he dreamt he was standing in a corridor, his keyblade in hand. Staring at a door, clutching his weapon. And he was full of anger and hate. He just stood there for a moment, and then he woke up.

The dreams are always like that. He remembers having them even before, before the Land of Departure, before Xehanort. When he was a Dandelion. And even before that.

They are always really similar. It is the middle of the night, and he is standing in a room, in a corridor, outside. He is alone. He is always alone. He doesn’t remember how he got here, and he doesn’t even know why he came here either. He’s just here, feeling angry, sad, empty. Sometimes feeling thrilled. His heart beats loud and fast in his chest, and he’s sometimes even exhausted, but he cannot remember what he did to feel that way.

Sometimes, the dream is very silent. Sometimes, he can hear voices in the distances. People crying, screaming, begging. Their voices echo on the walls, through the streets. Why are these people screaming? Why are they scared? He isn’t scared. Perhaps he should be, though. After all, he is alone in a place he doesn’t know. But in his dreams, he is never scared.

Safely tucked under his blanket, he remembers very vividly one dream, one he had long ago. He isn’t scared in his dreams, but thinking about them terrifies him. This dream is different. There is someone else in this dream.

He cannot remember their face, but he remembers the place. He was in a warehouse, and it wasn’t even night this time. There he was, as usual, standing there, with a grin on his face, and a blade in his hand. The other person was hugging their Chirithy. They were walking away from him, very slowly. He stood in the shadows, and he watched in silence. They disappeared. He was all alone again. All that was left was a notebook on the floor. He picked it up carefully, stared at it.  _ I will finally become someone _ , he whispered at the book.

He shakes his head, trying to forget about this. About the warehouse. About the streets. About the hallways. About Aqua’s door. About all these places he dreams of and wakes up scared even though he doesn’t know why. These are just nightmares, they mean nothing, and they aren’t real. He repeats that to himself, again and again. He reaches out for the blue notebook on his nightstand, and he presses it against his heart. They aren’t real. Master Ava placed this book next to him while he was asleep, all these years ago. She chose him, and she placed the notebook for him to see when he woke up. That’s how he became a leader. She chose him. She chose him.

He repeats these words, over and over. But the more he repeats them, the less true they sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twentieth theme is "You mean the world to me" (don't be shy of course you do)


	20. You mean the world to me

When Lauriam woke up, the house was silent. If he listened carefully enough, he could hear a light snoring coming from the room facing his, and he chuckled as he went down the stairs.

He opened the windows, letting some fresh air in, changed the flowers water, and put the kettle on the fire. He took a shower, drying his hair carefully, always wanting to look like his best self. He then came back to the kitchen, picking the kettle up and making some floral tea. He finally sat, enjoying his breakfast in silence, checking the clock.

It was almost time to go. He prepared everything for her breakfast, folded her clothes on a chair, and swiftly climbed up the stairs, knocking at her door.

“I’m leaving now. I pressed some oranges for you, make sure to drink that! Your lunch is on the counter. I’m probably going to be late for dinner again, so don’t wait for me, there are leftovers in the fridge.”

A muffled groan answered back behind the door, and he laughed. She really wasn’t a morning person.

“Don’t be late, okay? Be careful on your missions. Don’t accept any mission too high level for you! And brush your teeth before leaving!”

He heard a  _ thud _ on the other side and the door shook a bit. She had thrown her pillow at the door. He couldn’t stop smiling.

“Alright, alright, I’m leaving. Chirithy, if she isn’t up in five minutes, kick her out of bed! See you later, pumpkin!”

Another growl accompanied him as he left. She disliked that nickname more than anything, and he obviously knew that. But that was what siblings were for, constant teasing and calling each other silly names. He only wished he got to spend more time with her.

His party was full of very competitive people. He didn’t mind much, but they required him to spend a lot of time with them, collecting more and more Lux everyday, spending a lot of time fighting Raid Bosses. For these last two weeks, you would get twice as much Lux on every Raid Boss, and they were slaying them from dusk to dawn. He would leave before his sister woke up, and come back home when she was already asleep. He missed her. And, more importantly, he really worried for her.

They couldn’t be more different when it came to socializing.

He was obviously an extrovert. He couldn’t live without being surrounded by others. He liked people, and always had his ways with them. He never had any issue making new friends, warm to everyone, and people would often come to him. His party friends often joked he should become the party leader, but he would refuse politely with a smile. He barely had any time to spend with his sister ; he didn’t want any further responsibility. That’s what he told them, anyway. He kept secret the book Master Ava gave him, the job that came with it. Within a few days, he would meet the other Dandelions leaders. He wondered who they were. He did not worry about getting along with them - he got along with everyone, and everyone got along with him. No, what worried him was that Master Ava had mentioned a war, and the book was very clear about it. There would be a fight, and not everyone would make it out. He had sworn not to tell anyone, and now he regretted such a promise. He wanted, no, he  _ needed _ his baby sister to be safe. She was all he had.

She was the shyest creature he ever met. Only when they were alone did he ever see her laugh, raise her voice or pout. She wasn’t good at making friends, at interacting with others. When she was little, kids would often pick on her, bullying her for being really quiet and weak. How many times did he punch other children, sometimes younger, sometimes older than him? He had soon learnt a more efficient way, though, and was now very knowledgeable about many children in this town - knowing exactly their weak points, how to threaten and blackmail with a smile. Perhaps this was why he had started getting along with people so well in the first place: to learn all he could to keep his sister safe.

He wished he had spent more time with her lately. He had no idea how things were going in her party. If she had made any friend at all. He had heard her mention an Elrena a few times, but had no idea if they were close. Was she lonely? Was she spending the whole day alone, to come back home and eat dinner without her brother, crying herself to sleep like she did when she was younger? He suddenly wanted to go home. To ignore the Lux collect today, to sit at a table with her, and to talk, to listen. To cheer her up if she was feeling down. To tell her she wasn’t alone, she wouldn’t ever be. Perhaps even break his promise, tell her about the war, convince her to join the Dandelions. To be where he could keep her safe.

“Hey, Lauriam, we’re going,” one of his party member called. Lauriam closed his eyes for a second, and sighed. He couldn’t let them down. He would try to come home early, perhaps skipping the last boss of the day, so that he could have dinner with her.

He smiled. “I’m coming!” he said, following his friends, thinking of the dinner that night, thinking of the Dandelions leaders he would meet the next day, thinking of how they could keep Strelitzia, the most valuable person in his life, safe.

He smiled, not knowing coming home now would have been his last chance to see his sister. Unaware that the bells would chime on the very next day. Oblivious to the fact his world was ending right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess having this one right after the previous one was an interesting way of putting them x') it wasn't done on purpose but is cruel enough for me to enjoy this unexpected angst!
> 
> Twenty-first theme will take you on a "Journey"!


	21. Journey

Shifting on his throne, Xehanort sighed. He was old. He was old, and he had lived more than many, seen more than many. He was old, and he had no regret, were he to fade away today.

It all had started as all good story starts, on an island. He was the son of a fisherman - on the island, everyone was. He had been promised for a plain, safe but uninteresting life as a fisherman himself - on island, that’s what everyone would become eventually. But he wasn’t everyone. He was a dreamer. He would look at the sky when everyone looked at the sea, he and he dreamt of catching stars rather than fish. They built ships, he built ladders. They spoke of tides, he spoke of space. This world was just too small for him. And then, one day, he found the way to throw it all away, and he did without a single glance back. Not having a second thought for his parents, for his friend, for anything he loved, because his desire to discover more was bigger than any of that. Did he regret that now? He didn’t know. Not once did he try to know what happened to all of them. It was too late for that.

Gone was the islander, son of fisherman. He was now an apprentice, a keyblade wielder, training to become a keyblade master. He had cast away his family for a new one, a brother not of blood but of heart. They studied together, practised together, they knew everything about each other. Everything was perfect. Until the world became once again too small. The Master talked about Light, he thought about Darkness. The Master said the world had no use for shadows, he countered that wasn’t balance. Eraqus would always win their games, he would bend the rules. There was more to the world than the Master said. More than the books said. He knew it. And when he met a man dressed in black, who offered him a taste of Darkness and the power that came with it, he knew this would be his next destination. And he threw all that he loved away, once again. He wasn’t made for staying in one place for too long. He was no fisherman. He needed no anchor.

He even had tried being a Master, once. A terrible, yet necessary experience. He wouldn’t say he had enjoyed teaching Ventus, or Vanitas. It had been a way to work towards his grand plan, but it had forced him to lay low for too long. To stay hidden, working in the shadows. This world wasn’t just too small, it was too rotten, too broken to be fixed. He knew there was only one way to restore things, to bring back the balance he was looking for. It was easy to understand, really. All just had to be reset. And so here he was now, no more an islander nor an apprentice, no longer a child or a boy, but an old man, a puppeteer, sitting on his throne, watching the work of his life unfold before his eyes. Seven pawns of Light, Thirteen of Darkness. Decades of planning, scheming, orchestrating, and it was now time for him to find out if all these sacrifices, all these families he left behind had paid off. His own brother believed in a world made of Light ; it was time for him to prove that no light could exist without its share of darkness. When one came, the other followed right away. Eraqus had been the Light, and Xehanort had been more than willing to be his Darkness. And, thanks to all his hard work, Xehanort knew now that even if something went wrong, Darkness would not expire anytime soon. Even though he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twenty-second theme? Oh, that's an easy one! It's titled "To Belong" :D


	22. To Belong

There was no place for him, and Vanitas knew that very well. He was lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling. This place was better than the previous one, that was for sure. When he was just the old man’s apprentice, he slept on the dusty ground of the Keyblade Graveyard, waking up with sore back, bruises and headaches. The new Organization offered a decent bed, breakfast, bathroom, and even a coat that came with pockets. He had taken the habit of shoving food in them, remembering the times when the simple prospect of eating something was more of a dream than reality.

It came with a few downsides as well, though. Mostly, people. He didn’t have to interact with anyone before, because there was no one to interact with. Now the rooms were brimming with noisy and annoying people, Larxene trying to pick fight with everyone, Xemnas muttering complete nonsense, Demyx playing his sitar so much Vanitas considered burning it and the musician with it, Luxord asking him almost kindly if he wanted to play cards, Vexen running everywhere with piles of papers and hazardous products while still managing to show how much he despised everyone. These people all hated each other. And yet, Vanitas hated them more.

Pretty much all of them were Nobodies, beings with no heart. The ones who were not were heartless, and had...no… heart? He had not really listened to the explanation. They could travel through space, summon weapons and use magic. And more importantly, they could not feel anything.

And that was why he was left out, different, not one of them. They hated one another, but they were alike, they were a group, they could relate to one another. They belonged together. He did not.

Space travelling, summoning, magic, he could do just as much as they could. But he could do so much more. They couldn’t feel, he wished he wouldn’t either. His whole existence was  _ pain _ ,  _ hate _ ,  _ anger, doubt, worries, fear, jealousy _ . Ventus had kept all the nice things, and left him all the wrong ones. One more reason why he hated Ventus. If only all these messed up emotions stayed inside his head, perhaps he could deal with them, try to fit in, but of course, they had to take shape with his Unversed. He knew how much the other ones were disgusted by this. How much they rejected him, because they could see who he really was. A freak. An open book who would sometimes lose control and set free an army of Floods, of Scrappers, of Hareraisers, when he felt something too strongly. They would stay away from him because he was a monster, an anomaly they didn’t want anything to do with. They made it clear he wasn’t home.

They probably were jealous he had a heart. It was an incomplete one, a rotten one, and many times he had wished he had none at all, just like them, but it was a fact. He had that thing they were fighting to get back. At least, if any of them still believed in the old man’s plain lie. They were many things, but they weren’t stupid. They got fooled once, but they probably wouldn’t fall for the same empty promise twice. Why would they come back? It made no sense. Why did  _ he _ come back? To be fair, he had not really be gone. In his own referential, that was. Xehanort pulled him from this world’s past, his present, and brought him here. He had not quite grasped all the subtleties of this time travel, but had heard what he wished for: “You will be given another chance to fight Aqua. Perhaps even Terra. And you will have another opportunity to return to Ventus.”

And for these reasons, Vanitas would set worlds on fire, he would bring chaos and destruction, and he would even bear to stay in a place with people who weren’t like him and made it clear to him every day.

Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he wondered if there was anywhere he would ever belong. But there was only one person like him, and that was him. He was the only freak, the one no one would understand. The half someone, not Somebody enough, not Nobody enough, and he would never be welcome anywhere. If there was a place he could belong to, that would be the Realm of Darkness, a place cold and dark and lonely no one wanted to think about. That sounded about right for someone like him.

With a sigh, he rolled out of his comfy bed, put on his coat that came with pockets and left his quiet room for a hall full of free breakfast food and people he despised. Such was the price to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me 22 prompts for Vanitas to finally make an appearance, even though I love him so much ;_;  
> And he won't even appear again? I'm so sorry Vani!
> 
> On XMas's Eve Eve, the theme shall be "Moon" (and I'm afraid no one invited Moon Moon)


	23. Moon

Despite being called Twilight Town, the sun wasn’t stuck in an always setting position. Morning would come, then afternoon, and only after that would the town deserve its name. And after that, the moon would rise and night would fall, and the name became meaningless again. But Isa liked it here, no matter the time of the day. Or the meaning of the town.

He was sitting at the top of the clocktower, staring at the moon, alone. It was quiet, the night still warm with a summer breeze, and it helped clearing his thoughts. As soon as he heard steps behind him, he knew his meditation was over, though.

“I knew I’d find you here,” he heard Lea say as he sat next to him. “Ice cream shop’s closed, though.”

Isa said nothing, not even taking his eyes off the moon. Lea sighed.

“Are you okay? You feel a bit… distant, lately. You’re even worrying the kids. They thought you were mad at them. Isa?”

The blue haired man finally looked down from the sky. He shook his head.

“I’m not mad at them. Or at anyone. You of all people know what it looks like when I get mad. That’s not something I can allow anymore.”

“Ah, yeah, my berserk buddy. Did you have any other anger impulse lately?” While the tone was light, worry was obvious. Lea had once walked into a room Isa had completely destroyed, every piece of furniture turned into chips of wood. It was merely a month ago.

“I can feel it rise sometimes, but I always managed to stop it before I can’t handle it.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about it. About what we could do to perhaps deal with it.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on Isa’s lips.  _ We _ . Lea refused to let him suffer alone, and he was grateful for that. “I’m all ears.”

“The answer is Merlin!”

“Merlin?” Isa was confused. Was Lea suggesting Isa should rip the annoying magician into pieces? Or did the talkative old man have a spell for anger management?

“Remember how he created a special room for Kairi and I to train? I was thinking he could perhaps create a room for you. One you would go to anytime the anger became too much. A room where you can destroy and rage without fearing of consequences, rather than trying to muffle down that anger until the day it explodes again. What do you say?”

Isa considered the option in silence for a while. Lea respected that and did not speak either.

“I think it’s worth a try.”

“Amazing! Let’s go ask him soon, then! The sooner the better, right?”

Isa nodded and Lea chuckled, bumping his shoulder.

“Oh, by the way, Xion asked if we wanted to go shopping with her tomorrow. I think she wants to buy a present for Naminé. Wanna join?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m just not… I’m not used to have many people around. People used to avoid me. Especially her.”

“You know she has forgiven you, right? She understands. So if you’re avoiding her just because you fear she fears you, then…”

“It’s not just that.” Isa shook his head. “I don’t mix well with people. I’m not you. I don’t know how to talk to them, how to be interesting, or funny, or anything. I’m just the awkward guy standing behind. I don’t know how to answer them when they tell me things, I just don’t-”

“It’s fine,” Lea interrupted, putting a hand on Isa’s shoulder. “I get it. Take all the time you need. I’m not forcing you to join us. Spend as much or as little time with everyone as you wish. Baby steps. They will understand, and no one will judge you. Just join whenever you feel like you’re mentally ready to, and I promise everyone will be glad you’re here and not call you the ‘awkward guy standing behind’. And because you join one time doesn’t mean you have to join the next time as well. It’s whenever you want. Whenever you can.”

Isa lowered his head, staring at his hands on his laps. Somehow, he felt very weak. Guilty he wasn’t strong enough to simply spend time with people he should consider friends. Lea, not letting go of his shoulder, kept talking.

“And of course, call me anytime of day or night and I’ll gladly just spend time with you, just the two of us! It’s true that I spend a lot of time with the kids, but seriously, call and I’ll be there. Oh, I know! How about we go back to Radiant Garden this weekend? You and me. We haven’t visited our families in ages! Oh, I hope your ma will have some of her apple pie ready, I’m drooling just by thinking about it.”

“If she knows you’re coming, she’ll probably bake around half a dozen,” Isa chuckled, thinking about this home he visited only once since the town was fully restored, most of its people with it.

“Is that a yes then?” Lea asked, his eyes sparkling.

“It is. I’d love to. It’s been a while since we hung out together.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have made myself more available.”

Isa shook his head, this time really smiling. “Thank you, Lea.”  _ Thank you for being an amazing friend. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for being here.  _ “Thank you.”

Lea beamed at him. “No need for that. That’s what best friends are for.”

And for the first time since he got his heart back, Isa realised that he wasn’t as alone as he thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _this one went a lot darker than I had planned...._
> 
> I do promise, though, that the last theme is going to be full of Light, of cuteness, of fluff, and of children laughing. Because that's the XMas spirit. It will be titled "Angel", please look forward to it!


	24. Angel

The shortest day of the year was a day of celebration every year, and Sora was the most excited about this every year. His school held an event every year, a dress up party where children could have fun, eat candies and sing songs before going home to find out Santa had brought presents for them. He was ten now and this was his last year in primary school, and the event was even more important to him. Of course, he would go to middle school with all the other children here, but it still marked an important step of his life and he wanted to have as much fun as he could.

He was dressed up as Santa Claus himself, merrily laughing ‘ _ Ho-Ho-Ho _ ’s to anyone talking to him. His grin was pretty communicative, and all parents and children present were happily chatting in the room. 

“Mum, when is Riku coming?”

“I don’t know, darling.”

“What do you think he will be wearing?”

“I don’t know, darling.”

“Mum, do you think he’ll be cuter than me?”

“That, I know, darling. There will never be anyone cuter than you for me.”

“Mum, stop, it’s embarrassing!” Sora said, although he was smiling of content. A bit of praise never hurt, even when it came from the person the less objective ever.

“Oh look, here he comes! My, my, he  _ is _ cute, I’ll have to admit. I’ll go chat with his father, go play with him.”

Riku’s costume was all white, a nice contrast with his face, all red. Sora had never seen him that embarrassed before - not that Sora could blame him. All kids in the room had to stop themselves from laughing at him.

“Hey, Riku, is that…”

“A snowman. Yes. Mum forced me. Not a word.”

“Oh, there’s no reason to be ashamed! You look very… Wintery!”

Riku glared at him, and Sora smiled back, until Riku finally relaxed. Children had quickly forgotten his strange, round and fluffy outfit, and both of the boys started talking with their friends, enjoying the event.

“Sora? Stop looking around. If she was there, she would be with us.”

Sora blushed, looking away. “But she’s late… What if she doesn’t come? She promised she would come this year. What if she forgot?” He gasped. “Oh no, I’m sure she forgot! They probably didn’t celebrate back where she’s from and she doesn’t remember!”

“Relax, she came last year, and the year before. Besides, you kept telling her again and again how important it was to come this year, so I don’t think she could forget even if she wanted to,” Riku chuckled, and Sora nodded grimly.

“I know, but shouldn’t she be he-” He stopped abruptly as Kairi walked in, her father behind her. She noticed them and ran to them, a huge grin on her face.

“Your costumes are so great! Sora, I barely recognized you with that fake beard! And Riku, you look… Like a snowman!”

“Oh, be quiet, I can hear you making fun of me,” Riku sighed, before smiling back. “You look great too, Kairi!”

“Thank you!” She blushed, turning around to show her whole costume. “I’m a snow fairy! Mum finished it just now, so we’re a bit late! Do you like it, Sora?”

An angel. Sora had no other word to describe her, in her white dress, with tiny sparkling wings on her back, her hair braided in a crown around her head, her eyes sparkling, her smile mesmerizing. It felt as if the whole room had fell silent. As if there was no one here, no one but Kairi, smiling at him, her laugh the only melody he needed, her appearance the only sight he needed. She was the prettiest one in the room. No, in the world.

That thought in itself was weird for Sora. He never thought of Kairi as “pretty”. She was his friend and he loved her as such, but so was Riku. All three of them were a team, they fought monsters at sea and discovered treasures on deserted islands and lives many adventures and it was all it always had been, until today.

Sora loved Riku, but he started to realise Kairi wasn’t Riku. He would do anything for him, but he would do anything to spend some time just with her. When she smiled at him, he could feel butterflies in his stomach, when she talked, he would always listen. Why was she different? he wondered. Grown ups would always tease kids about finding a cute little lover in their class and kids would always complain that love was weird and gross and that they would never date anyone  _ ever _ . But as he laid his eyes on Kairi, he understood. He loved her, and not the way he loved Riku. He cared about her, a lot, and he selfishly wanted her to talk to him, to spend more time with him, to stay with him forever.

However, the more he thought about it, the more he thought that these feelings could wait. He was fine staying a kid pretending love was gross a bit longer. He was fine playing pirates with his two best friend without picking a favourite. He was fine with things the way they were. Love wasn’t gross, but love wasn’t urgent either. Kairi would stay by his side, and so would Riku, and that was all he could ask for.

“Sora? Does it look so bad you don’t know how to tell me?”

He shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts, and smiled at her. “Riku’s right. You look incredible, Kairi. But Mum said I was the cutest so I guess you can be number two! Oh, Riku’s got the special award of the embarrassing costume we’ll never forget, though!”

Riku complained, and Kairi chuckled, and Sora laughed, looking at her and her only, glad his beard concealed his blush. To hear her laugh, he would travel worlds, fight dragons, do anything at all.

For one more second of his beautiful angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.
> 
> This is yet another advent calendar completed! I can never thank enough SaphirActar for her support, her kindness and her friendship. Working on these themes had been a great pleasure, and I do feel sorry she gave me such amazing themes when I gave her the worst ever (I did give the theme "Facebook" on a pokemon calendar... as well as "sinusoid" for her KH calendar. I'm not a good friend.)
> 
> I'm also grateful to all of you, who took time to read these, sometimes to comment, or to leave kudos. I could simply write for myself and never post these anywhere, but I do believe that if at least one person out there liked my work, then I was right to post it. So thank you so much, and have a wonderful Christmas!  
> (since I'm not actually writing this on the 24th I am still hoping for some Re:Mind news, but perhaps we had them since then! OR IS THE DLC OUT? Man that would be crazy.)  
> Anyway, thank you, have fun, and see you around!


End file.
